


Past the Edge of the World

by Stariceling



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid, M/M, On Hiatus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-05
Updated: 2013-04-14
Packaged: 2017-12-06 04:54:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 37,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/731656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stariceling/pseuds/Stariceling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All his life Ryou has been searching for something. After he finds his first shipwreck curiosity prompts him to the surface to meet the man who will change his life forever.</p><p>Retelling of The Little Mermaid. Honda/Ryou main, eventual Yami Bakura/Honda/Ryou (Side pairing: Yami/Anzu/Yugi)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This will borrow from both the Disney movie and the original HC Anderson story (where convenient), with a bunch of original details stuffed in the gaps.
> 
> I started this ages ago, but at this point there's so much done I should just finish it up and post it. I just have to fill in the missing scenes for the second half.
> 
> I'm going back and editing or taking out chunks that are particularly terrible. Can't really do a full rewrite, but it's better, yeah?

If there were ever stories about sea monsters and sirens exchanged above the waves, you can be sure there were an equal number floating about below. In the deep kingdoms of the sea there were always stories of anchors vast as whales ripping reefs into rubble, of the vicious swish of harpoons penetrating deep enough to rip a merchild from the safety of the depths and back up to the surface. (The legends told on both sides of that barrier, it should be said, were about equally true.)

So the ships that passed overhead like dark clouds and the land that marked the edges of the world became forbidden territory. No one among the merpeople tried to go near the humans. No one would want to. More than that, anyone from the land above who dared to anchor their ship in the Sea Kings’ sight were exposing themselves to whatever storm might come in a lash of age-old rage.

Even with those occasional shadows passing overhead, there was peace in the endlessly growing palaces of coral and shell. Humans were little more than distant bogeymen to frighten small children away from the dangers of the surface, until the Sea Kings’ youngest son became fascinated with them.

There had never been an heir born into the royal family who had even considered ruling alone. It was more blood than tradition, because every firstborn was accompanied by a twin to steady and compliment them. This generation was no exception, though the children who came after that were a bit of an enigma.

Four sons were born barely a year apart. First was Yami, serious and calm in the face of danger. He would be the next to take the task of ruling into his steady hands. His other half, Yugi, was more connected to those around him. He was often the only one to understand his brother, or to know when he needed something. If Yami intimidated his people, there was always his other half to bridge the gap.

The second set of sons were paid less attention, and in time were even allowed to run wild. It had caused a minor commotion when they were born, since there had been no recorded instance of more than one set of twins per generation in their family. But nothing remarkable seemed about to come from them, and before long no one remarked on them with the first pair to hold their attention.

Bakura and Ryou, both with pale hair and suspicious eyes. Both able to disappear from sight in a moment. They made an odd reflection of one another. Ryou was so shy that he would often slip out of sight unless one of his brothers detained him, and Bakura resented most members of his own household enough to avoid them.

Bakura was the most important person in Ryou’s life. For most of his young life, he divided his attention evenly between his beloved brother and his own desperate search.

Ryou always felt as if some part of him was missing. There was no need to prove himself driving him as it drove Bakura, only a mystery that he couldn’t guess at. Whatever he was missing, he knew only that he had not seen it before outside of dreams. So he would explore, slipping into the deep, dark places that his people regarded as the only mysteries left under the ocean.

For the first sixteen years of his life, Ryou’s searching was always focused downward. Many times he dove deeper than even sunlight could reach. He would let himself fall into the dark, fighting the pressure that wrapped around him as he dove as deep as he could possibly go. He would stretch out his hands and find nothing. He wondered if there was nothing to find. He was sure that in places the ocean must stretch down forever with no bottom.

It wasn’t until Ryou stumbled across his first shipwreck that he even thought of the world outside of the ocean. He had always known there was land that rose up and marked the edge of the world. He knew of waves that marked the choppy boundary between sea and air, and knew that seabirds and other things sometimes passed over his home. He even knew, though it he never bothered to test the knowledge, that he should be able to breathe out in the air, not just in water.

None of these things particularly mattered to Ryou until he found the ship. The wreck brought the world outside of the ocean to him, and made it seem as solid and tangible as his own home.

Ryou was fascinated with the shipwreck. He spent hours inspecting it in detail. He could hardly believe it was the same as the ships that passed overhead. Those were nothing to him but a curve of wooden hull and a wake trailing behind. Besides, he was forbidden to even approach the ships that passed above, while it was obvious that the ship left rotting on the ocean floor was harmless.

The sails were long gone, but Ryou circled the mast, not sure what use it could possibly have. He inspected the deck where it was rotting away, running his hands over the rough wood. He passed through the jagged hole in the hull, such an obviously unplanned detail, and wondered how it had come to be.

Once he had explored the body of the wreak itself, Ryou began to sort carefully through the contents of the hold and the cabins and explore the surroundings for more artifacts that might have spilled from the ship, wondering at the use of everything.

The leather-bound captain’s log came apart in his hands, no matter how delicately he picked it up. It took Ryou a long time to realize that it must not have been meant to be left in the water. He touched many things that were rotting away or irreparably damaged by the water, and marveled at the sheer impracticality of them.

The tin plates and utensils were perfectly sturdy, so that Ryou could not help playing with them, particularly the pronged utensils that reminded him of his father’s trident. The knives was more like the spears used sometimes in hunting, and Ryou turned one over and over in his hands until he cut himself on the rusty blade.

That cut quickly killed his enjoyment of the item. He rushed from the wreak, fingers in his mouth in an attempt to stop the blood, and would not return for a long time. There was no sign more dangerous than blood in the water, and there were countless things in the depths that young mermen did not face alone, and even in groups did not face lightly.

Even that dangerous injury could not keep him away for too long, though now he would no longer touch anything that resembled a weapon he knew, and touched even the things that seemed harmless cautiously.

He also found bones, a few in the wreak and a few nearby. Ryou shuddered at the twisted form of them at first and would not touch them, thinking that humans must be horrible to behold if even their bones fit together so badly. Eventually he noticed that undersea currents and the attentions of fish displaced the bones until they bunched together or stretched out over the sand in unnatural patterns. Then the humans in his mind returned to a indefinite, unknown shadow, though far more solid seeming than they had been before.

Even as he explored the wreck, Ryou knew what he needed to satisfy his curiosity. He wanted to see one of those ships in its element, one on top of the water. He wanted to see what lived above the waves, to see with his own eyes what were considered little more than a vague, distant danger by others.

For the first time Ryou turned his search upwards. He wanted to see a ship for himself. It must be beautiful above the waves, and he wanted to see that just once. He wouldn’t get too close, he promised himself. He wasn’t going to take unnecessary risks. He was only going to watch from a distance.

He might even see humans.

* * *

Ryou slipped nervously between air and water and back again. If he was honest with himself, he was anxious that he would be seen. None of the stories he’d heard with humans in them ended well. Even after seeing the bones, he couldn’t quite imagine what they must be like, only that they must be fearsome creatures to be able to survive outside of the ocean.

As Ryou crept alongside the ship, sunset stained the water and the sky beautifully. The setting sun flashed in his eyes until he was hidden in the shadow that the ship cast over the waves.

Ryou dragged himself up against the side of the ship until he could just peek at what was happening on the deck. He saw sails for the first time, and couldn’t help staring at them. Everything was so strange to him on top of the waves, so utterly alien.

Ryou let his eyes wander over other parts of the ship, so blinded by his wonder that he missed the person approaching him until it was too late to escape. He ducked, trying to hide himself in shadow. He hoped very much that he hadn’t been seen.

Only . . . that person, that human, didn’t look dangerous. He leaned on the railing, looking out over the sea. From his position, Ryou could peek up at him without worrying about being seen easily.

The human looked like a normal person, at least from the waist up, which was the only part Ryou could see over the railing. Ryou didn’t think this was what they were supposed to look like, not according to the stories he’d heard. He had a serious face, but Ryou knew better than to be afraid of that. More importantly there were no fangs protruding from his mouth, no glint of bloodlust in his eyes. He didn’t look like he could crush a skull with his bare hands, or tear a throat open with his teeth. Compared to what Ryou had heard, he looked almost . . . nice.

“Honda!”

Ryou shrank back further into shadow as a second man approached. This one was also lacking in particularly fearful features. Ryou was also interested to see that he even looked cheerful.

“What are you staring at?”

“Nothing. The sunset.” The first one, Honda, made an odd gesture with his shoulders.

“Why not? It only happens every day.” The blond let out a bark of laughter.

“Maybe I was waiting for your aquatic maidens to came serenade me.” For some reason, this seemed to put the second man on edge. He set his face into a grimace, as if offended, though Ryou thought he must have missed the offense itself.

“I told you, they were real!”

Ryou leaned as close as he thought was safe. He wasn’t sure he was following the conversation properly, but they seemed to be talking about the merpeople. His people.

“Wonder that they sent you back only _half_ -drowned,” Honda commented airily.

“I told you, it wasn’t like that.”

Honda laughed. The sound made Ryou press himself closer to the ship, trying to hide himself in the wood as if the shadow was no longer enough of a shield. It was a pleasant sound, but he didn’t like the feeling that this person was laughing at him. Honda wasn’t just laughing at his people, but at him personally.

“Shut up.”

“What? I believe you, Jounouchi.”

Jounouchi gave his companion an irritated look, obviously not trusting this statement.

“I mean,” Honda sighed, “I look out there and I think anything is possible. I know you’ve never felt that, you’ve told me so enough times.” He looked towards his companion, possibly for confirmation, but turned his gaze quickly back out towards the waves. “You’ve never believed a single one of those stories. It almost seems impossible that you would be the one to start making claims like this.”

“Yeah. You’re the one who’d want to go looking for them.”

Honda shook his head negative, slowly relinquishing his view of the ocean as he turned to lean his back against the rail. “I guess.”

Jounouchi shook his head as well, though for him the gesture seemed to be one of mild frustration. “I don’t have time for this. Seto’s after you again. How he manages to lose track of you on a ship this small I have no idea.” He turned and started to walk away and leave Honda at the rail.

Ryou pulled himself up out of the protective shadow, trying to reach up to the railing and get a closer look. He knew he should make his escape while he had the chance, but he didn’t want to leave, not yet. Such a strange, serious creature. Such a mystery. Even if he was rude enough to laugh at Ryou, the way he had sounded when he spoke of the ocean spoke directly to the longings Ryou had felt all his life. It made him wonder if someone born to the land could be connected to the ocean. Ryou wanted to hear more from this human.

Ryou reached up, but his hand shied away from touching Honda at the last second. Instead he left a damp spot on Honda’s sleeve, brushing it accidentally as he turned and threw himself back into the safety of the ocean.

* * *

“Jounouchi! Did you see that?”

Honda clenched the railing so hard his knuckles went white. He leaned over, staring into the dark water for just one more glimpse. All he had seen was a flash of silver hair and scales, but somehow he was sure . . .

“What? That’s not funny.”

“Just a leaping fish,” Honda lied. “Sorry. Just because you brought that up before, I almost thought. . .” He shrugged, dismissing his outburst, “It was nothing, though.”

Jounouchi must be giving him that look, the one that said he thought Honda had gone out of his mind. Honda didn’t have to look to be able to tell, he knew he deserved it. He also knew wasn’t just imagining things because of their conversation. ‘Speak of the devil and he shall appear,’ people claimed. Yet it hadn’t felt like a devil’s touch.

Honda covered the wet patch on his sleeve with his palm. He knew it had touched him, whatever it was. He didn’t like to think that something unknown had snuck up behind him without a sound, but he hadn’t exactly been attacked. Those people, they were supposed to have long claws in place of fingers, but that light touch had been more like the brush of a human hand.

Honda had wanted to believe it the whole time, and now he was more sure than ever. Jounouchi was right. Whatever the stories he’d been raised on said, they weren’t like that.

* * *

Ryou slipped under the keel of the ship. He was sure they wouldn’t be able to see him here. Actually, he dared hope that he hadn’t been seen at all. No one had thrown nets down after him, at least.

The thought of being caught made Ryou pause. Could they even follow him? He couldn’t remember seeing humans in the water before. Scraps of bone, he had seen, but not living humans. If they could live in the ocean, why would they travel above it in their ships?

Ryou eventually made his way back to the surface. The ship didn’t hold the same mindless wonder for him after his close call, yet he stayed. He slipped between water and air, wanting to catch another glimpse of the people on board, but not wanting to be seen by them at the same time.

After a few minutes Ryou was aware of the storm gathering. There was a different tension in both air and water as clouds loomed and the wind picked up. Ryou knew he would have to leave soon. He had seen storms before from below the surface and knew he didn’t want to be caught in one. He knew could easily dive and escape the weather entirely.

He had never seen a storm build this quickly. The humans were unnerved by it too, he thought. He could see them dashing about on the deck, suddenly busy.

When lightning flashed down towards the mast, Ryou understood. He could feel the intent. This storm was one of the Sea King’s, though which of his fathers was personally behind it he couldn’t guess. It had been sent, with the sole purpose of tearing the ship apart.

The mast split as it was struck by lightning, half breaking away with a sickening crack and falling toward the ocean. The other half remained, ruined, stabbing up into the darkened sky.

Ryou ducked under the remains of the sails as they spread out and began to sink. The mast was dragging the ship, making it lean to one side. Even Ryou knew this couldn’t be good.

He was right. He could see the men rushing and shouting to each other, scrambling to stay out of the waves that washed up over the listing side of the ship. Honda was there, soaked through already with the rain. Ryou watched him climb over the side. He was trying to cut the ropes holding the mast to the ship.

Staring, afraid to even breathe, Ryou couldn’t help getting caught up in the situation. Even from his hiding place he could feel Honda’s determination as he sawed through the ropes.

Then a fresh wave smashed itself against the other side of the ship, making it tilt dangerously. Honda had to grab hold of the side with both hands to keep himself from being thrown into the ocean.

Ryou followed the sudden glint of Honda’s knife as it fell with his eyes. He didn’t give himself time to think, but simply dived. Following the line of the broken mast underwater, Ryou darted forward until he was floating almost directly below Honda’s feet. The knife was lodged in the tangled net of severed ropes above his head.

Honda stretched down, trying desperately to reach his knife, to finish his task. Ryou reached out to him in return, his hand obscured by the tangle of rope, but supporting and lifting Honda’s knife until he could reach it.

Honda snatched the knife as soon as it was in range, and Ryou dove again. The ropes had gotten tangled around his arm, keeping him from getting very far, but he could at least get out of Honda’s view. He didn’t think Honda would question his good luck, and he was definitely too busy to attack Ryou now.

By the time Ryou had gotten his arm free, Honda had cut the ship free from the mast’s deadweight. He was gone.

Ryou knew on some level that he should have simply dived to escape the storm and left the humans to their own devices. As if to remind him of this, he felt wood slam into his unprotected back as the mast came completely free of the ship. Ryou gasped as a bolt of pain went through his sensitive gills, barely able to summon the presence of mind to get out from under the sinking wood. He was afraid to even touch his back to check the damage. If he was bleeding, if his gills were badly damaged, he could die. He wouldn’t be able to take in oxygen from the water and eventually he would be drowned in his own element.

Suddenly Ryou knew what it must be like for them. These humans, as far as he could tell they couldn’t live in the water at all. They must be as terrified out here in the middle of the ocean as Ryou would have been if trapped on their land.

Lightning flashed down again. The sailors had managed to keep their ship from being swamped, and the one controlling the storm was getting impatient. Ryou hung on to the side of the ship, wanting to weep. Bolts of lightning lashed at the ship, and he only wanted it to stop. He only knew that this wasn’t right.

As if in answer to Ryou’s thoughts the storm faltered. At least lightning was not longer trying to split the ship in two.

So slowly that Ryou could hardly be sure it was happening, the waves started to calm somewhat as they settled into the pattern of a natural storm. He could sense that the storm was no longer intent on lashing out at the ship alone.

It was too late. Ryou could only watch now as the ship leaned over, as if too tired to hold itself above the waves any longer. The people were setting off tiny ships now to escape sinking down into the ocean with their doomed ship.

Ryou could barely see through the rain, but somehow his eyes picked out a familiar face in one of the lifeboats. It was Jounouchi, the one he had watched speaking to Honda. Ryou realized he was gesturing at something, he could feel his panic, even if his shouts were lost to the wind.

Ryou turned his gaze in the direction Jounouchi was pointing, and there was Honda. The waves seemed to go still for a second when Ryou saw him. He was clutching a small spur of wood, barely floating. He was face-down, a bloody halo spread into the water around his head.

For another second, Ryou couldn’t move. Honda was so still, limp in the influence of the waves. Then he slipped, and he sank, and Ryou couldn’t stand to let him disappear.

Diving, Ryou quickly caught up with Honda underwater. He didn’t even respond when Ryou reached for him, which terrified Ryou as much as it would have if Honda had lashed out and attacked him.

Ryou dragged the still body upward until he could push his head above the surface. He barely knew what he was doing. He could hear the longing that had been in Honda’s voice echoing in his ears, but he couldn’t let Honda sink into his world.

“Honda,” Ryou whispered, trying the new name. His voice was lost under the sound of the wind.

He wasn’t breathing. It didn’t feel right to see the same face that had been laughing at him only an hour ago so still. Ryou wrapped his arms around Honda’s waist and squeezed, willing him to wake up and breathe. He had pulled this man back up into his own world, and he didn’t want that to be in vain. He wanted Honda to live.

Honda coughed up water when Ryou squeezed him. Slowly, he drew in a shallow breath and let it out again, but didn’t open his eyes.

Ryou pushed Honda’s hair away from the cut on the back of his head, but he found it was tiny. He didn’t think Honda would die from such a small thing, but he couldn’t even be sure of that. Even if the cut didn’t kill him, it had spread blood into the water. Ryou knew something like that could kill them both if they lingered.

Now what? Ryou clutched the still human to his chest. It was one thing to dive in after the him, but what did he do now? He had saved Honda’s life, and it was now his responsibility. He couldn’t leave him here. The ship was destroyed and the lifeboats were being scattered by the storm.

Ryou tilted Honda’s head back against his shoulder so he could be sure his mouth stayed above the waves. He pulled Honda up a bit further to keep the cut on his head from spreading more blood into the water, and tried to think. They couldn’t stay here. Honda would drown. He had to get Honda back to land where he belonged.

Dragging an unconscious human through stormy water was the hardest thing Ryou had ever done. He wanted to dive into calmer waters and at least escape the waves, but he knew that Honda couldn’t survive there.

Long before his task was over Ryou’s arms and tail were aching with the effort. Only the feeling of Honda breathing, his chest shifting under Ryou’s arms and his breath ghosting warm against Ryou’s neck, gave him the strength to keep going.

The simple feeling of Honda breathing against him made Ryou burn with determination. Honda would live.

* * *

With the strength that his determination had given him gone, Ryou wasn’t sure he had the energy to swim home, even without the burden of dragging Honda.

Dawn was starting to break. Ryou knew he would be in trouble for staying out all night without a word, but he couldn’t tear himself away from Honda’s side. Not yet.

Ryou had pushed himself back into the water after getting Honda safely onto the beach. He stayed just far out enough to breathe. Keeping his head up in the air so long had dried out his throat. He wanted to give himself a chance to rest and recover from breathing so much air, but at the same time he didn’t want to stray too far.

Honda was still his responsibility. Ryou wanted to watch until he woke up, to be sure he was unhurt. As far as he could tell Honda was stable, but he had never even seen a live human before today. He wasn’t quite sure what signs he should be looking for. He had been nervous to touch Honda too much, though he was fascinated by the fact that he looked completely different from the waist down.

It had taken several minutes of wracking his brain for details of the horror stories from his childhood before he settled on a word for Honda’s not-tail. Legs, he finally remembered. He wondered if humans had another name for them. He couldn’t remember the name or use for the cloth Honda was wrapped up in. When he lifted it cautiously he found normal skin underneath, which he had not dared to touch in case it hurt or angered Honda.

He really didn’t know a thing about humans, he had realized. In stories they were always so terrible and fearsome that they seemed invincible. Now, seeing him up close, Honda seemed as fragile as any other mortal person.

Nervous, Ryou abandoned the deeper water and pushed himself up onto the sand to check on Honda again. He put one arm cautiously across Honda’s shoulders and leaned his head against his chest. He could hear Honda’s heartbeat. He knew that had to be a good sign.

“Wake up,” Ryou whispered. He smoothed Honda’s hair back from his face, willing his eyes to open so that he could be sure Honda was alive and well.

As if in response to his thought, Honda’s eyes cracked open until he could squint up at Ryou. Ryou knew the sun was directly behind him. He only hoped Honda couldn’t seen him clearly against its rays.

“I’m glad.” A whisper was really all his dry throat could produce at the moment, but that shouldn’t matter. He knew Honda could hear him.

Ryou pushed himself back, trying to get back into the water now that he knew Honda was alive and awake, but he found a hand suddenly on his arm, holding him back.

“Wait . . .” Honda gasped, “You . . .” His voice sounded rough and raw, as if his throat was also too dry to force out words.

Honda tried to sit up, but fell back to the sand, giving Ryou a chance to slip out of his grip.

“Please,” Ryou rested his fingers on Honda’s chest one last time, trying to think of something to say, “Be strong.” He had seen enough of Honda to know that he was strong already, but he wanted to remind Honda of that. “Live.”

Ryou caught the next wave, pushing himself out deep enough to swim properly. He quickly propelled himself out far enough to be sure he couldn’t be caught before surfacing again to check on Honda one last time.

Ryou had gotten off of the beach just in time. There were other people now, all running toward Honda. Honda had managed to push himself into a sitting position, and was looking around at the people running towards him.

Ducking back beneath the waves, Ryou finally allowed himself to relax. Honda would be all right now. He was sure of it. He had others of his own kind to take care of him.

As he swam slowly towards home, Ryou couldn’t get himself to stop thinking about it. He knew he couldn’t say a word to his brothers. How could he ever explain his actions? How could he excuse getting so close that he could have been recognized, or caught?

Still, Ryou wished he could have truly met Honda. Not just seen him, but actually gotten to know him a little. It went beyond simple curiosity for the unknown world. There was something about him that made Ryou want to know more about him.

What harm could it possibly do, he asked himself, to return just to see Honda? Just to look at him one more time and be sure he had recovered properly?

He wouldn’t admit it, but in his heart Ryou already knew that simply looking at Honda, and the land that was his home, would never be enough.

* * *

“Where were you last night?”

Ryou tried not to be startled by his brother’s sudden appearance. He turned over in the water to look at Bakura, wondering if he was caught or if Bakura had simply missed him. He was still too tired from dragging Honda to put together a reasonable excuse.

“I was watching the storm.”

“That’s all?” There was a slight edge to Bakura’s voice, as if he would like to accuse Ryou of something, but he would prefer that Ryou admitted to it instead. “There was a ship up there last night.”

“I know.” Ryou answered softly. Let Bakura take the tremor in his voice for fear, not guilt. He didn’t want to be found out just yet. He had to check on Honda and be sure he had recovered.

“That was extremely dangerous.”

Ryou hadn’t expected a lecture from Bakura of all people, but he nodded quietly anyway.

Bakura didn’t seem to think he was being taken seriously. “You should stay away from the surface when there are ships up there!”

Ryou nodded again, obediently. “I will.” It wouldn’t be a hard promise to keep. He wasn’t after ships, after all. Not anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

Ryou couldn’t live with just wondering what might have happened to the person he had rescued. He spent the next three days watching the beach where he had left Honda from a distance, each day becoming more daring and more desperate when he saw no sign of life.

Eventually he worked out a way to get close enough to the beach to watch, while staying in water deep enough to let him breathe comfortably. There was an outcropping of rocks to one side, the tides had carved out great troughs in front of the outcrop, offering Ryou a sheltered hiding place to watch from.

Ryou had barely settled into this hiding place when he noticed movement nearby. This time he wasn’t the only one on the beach. Peeking around his rock, Ryou found the person he had waited so long for walking slowly toward the water.

He also found that his hiding place wasn’t as perfect as he had thought. As soon as he looked out, Honda started toward him, plainly having noticed him peeking. Ryou ducked back behind the rock, meaning to get underwater and make a break for it.

“Wait!”

Ryou froze. He pressed back against the rock, as if it could keep him from being discovered. He could hear the muffled thud of feet on wet sand homing in on his hiding place.

“Wait . . .” Honda’s voice had softened, which helped Ryou calm himself a little, “Are you still there?”

Ryou suddenly felt trapped in his little hiding place. He couldn’t dive out of reach here. He couldn’t get out, and just because this person seemed to be good, just because he had spoken of Ryou’s home with that longing in his voice, was no reason for foolishly being caught by him.

“I’m here,” Ryou answered softly, trying to be brave, “Please don’t . . .”

A hand appeared, gripping the edge of the rock, and Ryou shrunk away from it.

“Stay away from me,” Ryou cried.

The hand came no closer to touching him. Ryou watched it warily. Honda had stopped just short of coming around the rock to look at him, which made him feel a little safer.

“I won’t hurt you.”

Ryou chewed his lip, he wanted to believe that, but. . . “Stay there,” he ordered. He didn’t know how to deal with humans. He had only been this close to one once before, and Honda had been unconscious then.

“I won’t hurt you,” Honda promised again. “I just thought . . . It was you, wasn’t it. You brought me here, three nights ago. You saved my life.”

Ryou tried to make himself smaller, to curl up and hide. He must have been seen, then. He had thought he had gotten away fast enough.

“I recognize your voice.” Ryou let out a silent breath of relief at that. “I wanted to thank you for saving my life.”

Ryou smiled to himself, reassured. The hand in front of him no longer seemed dangerous, since its owner had come with such harmless intentions. More importantly, he wasn’t in danger for having been seen.

“Are you still there?”

Ryou stretched up out of the water until he could place his hand carefully over Honda’s. He held it delicately, not sure what to do with it. “I’m here.”

“I’m so glad you came back.”

He was glad he had come back too, Ryou decided as ran his thumb over the back of the hand he was holding. “I wanted to be sure you were all right.” He flushed, realizing he still barely knew this person, “Sir, I. . .”

“Honda. Just call me Honda” The hand moved, pulling his hand back around the rock. Before Ryou could yank his hand back Honda placed a soft kiss on the back of his wrist. “Pleased to meet you.”

Ryou squirmed, trying to pull back from the feeling of warm lips on the back of his hand.

“Are you all right?” Honda tightened his grip, keeping Ryou from reclaiming his hand. “Your hand is like ice.”

“I’m fine.” Ryou attempted again to tug his hand away, trembling. “I have to go.”

“Wait. I don’t even know your name.”

Ryou managed to get his hand free. “I have to go now!” He slipped back into the water, looking for sanctuary.

“Can I see you again?”

Ryou paused, he wanted so badly to escape, but Honda deserved an answer. He had come for him, after all.

“Yes. I’ll . . . I promise, I’ll come back here.”

With that, Ryou escaped under the next wave, striking for deeper water, still trembling from the kiss Honda had given him.

* * *

Ryou floated just below the waves, enjoying the feeling of drifting carelessly in the sun-warmed water. He was home now, safe. Even now he couldn’t stop thinking about Honda.

Honda had been so kind, as if he spoke to shy mermen every day. He had even given him a kiss in greeting. Ryou pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, dreaming. A kiss warmer than the sun. He had been too nervous to appreciate it at the time, but he had never felt anything like it.

“Where have you been?” Bakura was approaching him from deeper waters. “I was looking for you all morning.”

“Exploring,” Ryou explained nervously. He knew better than to try to lie to his closest brother, but it was true in a way.

“Exploring where?”

Ryou bit his lip. Bakura wasn’t trying to be subtle at all. He knew he was caught and his brother was giving him a chance, more like an order, to confess.

“I was around the shore.” Ryou couldn’t be sure how much Bakura knew. He didn’t think he could have been watching, but there were more than enough places for Bakura to conceal himself around the beach.

“Ryou,” the reprimand had much more of an edge than last time, “I saw you.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong.” Ryou shifted his position in the water, considering escaping Bakura and the conversation.

“You’re doing something dangerous!” Bakura darted at him. Faster than Ryou could think, Bakura was holding him by the arms to keep him from escaping.

“I’m not!” Ryou winced and tried to wriggle out of that grip.

“You got close enough to be touched by one of them, and you tell me that’s not dangerous?” Bakura glared down at Ryou. He didn’t even have to yell to make Ryou wish he could shrink away.

“He didn’t hurt me. I’m sure-”

“And you think he won’t tear you apart as soon as you drop your guard?”

“No,” Ryou’s voice shook but he stumbled on, “They can’t all be like that.”

“Listen to me, Ryou-”

“He’s not dangerous!”

“Ryou, listen to me! They’ll slice off your scales, one by one. They’ll slit you open and rip out you guts before leaving you to die. That’s what they do!” Bakura shook Ryou hard. “You think I want to give them a chance to do that to you!?”

Ryou closed his eyes and shook his head violently, feeling sick. He didn’t want to worry Bakura, and he certainly didn’t want to die. Yet he’d grown up with the same stories and he still couldn’t believe that Honda would attack him.

“Look at me.”

Ryou opened his eyes again and looked fearfully over at his brother. He didn’t think Bakura had ever looked so commanding. The stern look in his eyes reminded Ryou so much of his father that it was hard to imagine denying him anything.

“Promise me you won’t go near the land again, ever.”

“I have to.” Ryou couldn’t even be sure of his reasons, but he knew he had to see Honda again. “I saved him. It’s my duty to look after him.” He tried to think about that duty alone, and not the way Honda’s breath had felt on his skin.

“You shouldn’t go. Just listen to me. Just this once, do what I say!”

“I have to do this.”

“Ryou,” his brother’s voice was harsh, fingers digging into his arms as he spoke, “You can never let him find out who you are. There’s no telling what that human would do to you if he saw you.”

“I won’t. No one is going to see me.” Ryou wilted under his brother’s glare. “He won’t do anything to me.” He was sure Bakura had a thousand more horror stories in mind, but even hearing them wouldn’t make him believe them, not of Honda.

Bakura slowly loosened his grip. “Don’t let anyone find out.” He seemed frustrated that he hadn’t managed to scare his little brother away from the idea completely. “I’m going with you.”

“You don’t have to,” Ryou whispered, knowing it was a useless protest. “I’ll be careful.”

“I don’t care. I’m going.” Bakura crossed his arms angrily, and Ryou knew he could only lose what little ground he had gained if he tried to argue further. “And the first time he makes a move to attack you, I’ll rip his filthy legs off.”

* * *

Honda was waiting for him as Ryou slipped into the same pool he had hidden in before. Ryou peeked around the edge of the rock at Honda, withdrawing the moment Honda started to turn toward him.

“You came back,” the joy in Honda’s voice made Ryou pause. In spite of Bakura’s warning, he was glad he had come to see Honda. But still. . .

“Wait. . .” Ryou could hear Honda shifting around on the other side of the rock. “Stay where you are, please.” Ryou pressed himself into the rock, taking comfort in having its solid bulk between them. It had been easy to tell himself that Bakura had to be wrong, but he really didn’t know what Honda would do if he discovered he wasn’t talking to another human.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want you to see me,” Ryou insisted in a shaking voice.

Honda put one hand cautiously around the crack in the rock, though he hadn’t yet come forward enough to look around at Ryou. He was probably leaning into the rock to be so close without coming around it. Ryou reached up to clasp his hand and hesitated just shy of touching.

“But. . .” Honda protested.

“Please, I’m-” Ryou yelped as the hand surged forward, finding his and clasping it tight.

“Don’t be shy,” Honda told him, “I promised I wouldn’t hurt you. If you don’t want anyone to know you’ve been meeting me here, I swear I won’t say a word.”

“I can’t,” Ryou whispered, “I . . . you don’t need to see me.”

“I want to know you.”

Ryou clenched his hand on Honda’s. He couldn’t let himself be seen. He had promised his brother he would stay safe. “Know my voice,” he whispered.

Honda gently drew his hand around the edge of the rock. “But this is all right?”

“Yes.” Ryou smiled shakily.

Honda touched his lips to the back of Ryou’s wrist. “Is this all right?”

“Y-yes.”

Honda left soft kisses from Ryou’s wrist to his fingertips, pausing to discover the fragile bit of webbing between his fingers with his tongue. Ryou trembled, his hand clenched around Honda’s as if it was his only lifeline in the whole of this dry world that he had snuck into.

“Are you all right?” Honda paused, holding Ryou’s hand against himself. “You’re so cold.”

Ryou nervously tried to retrieve his hand. “You’re so warm.”

Ryou withdrew, though he took Honda’s hand with him. He kissed Honda’s palm once, wondering if his chilled lips could ever deliver the same shock to Honda that he had felt.

“Who are you?” Honda maneuvered his hand until he could cup Ryou’s cheek with his palm. “I don’t know anything about you, and I fear you must know everything about me.”

“No,” Ryou laughed, willing his voice not to shake. “I barely know you. I’ve only seen you here. I can only meet you here.”

Ryou hoped he hadn’t given himself away. He couldn’t bear to pull away from Honda’s hand, but he couldn’t help thinking that if he was discovered he should escape while he had the chance.

“Don’t be afraid. You asked me not to look at you, so I won’t look. I only wish you could be honest with me.”

“I’m not afraid,” Ryou protested.

“You’re trembling.”

Ryou closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. It was dangerous to trust a human, wasn’t it? But he wanted to so badly, and Honda’s hands were so warm, warmer than anything. . .

“You saved my life,” Honda reminded him. “I owe you my life, and for that alone I would never let you come to harm. You don’t have to cower over there.”

“I just don’t want you to see me.”

Honda’s fingers trailed over Ryou’s cheek. “Are you an angel? Is that why I’m not allowed to see?” One finger brushed clumsily against Ryou’s parted lips, making him gasp. “Are you worried you’ll blind me with your unearthly beauty?” Honda teased.

Ryou blinked in surprise. “What? I’m not an angel. I’m sure. . .” Ryou looked down at his tail miserably. He had seen Honda’s legs already, and knew how alien Honda would find the shimmering scales that he considered normal. “I’m sure you would find me quite ugly.”

“You have a beautiful voice,” Honda told him gently.

“Thank you,” Ryou whispered.

“You’re shy.” Honda laughed, making Ryou clench his hands nervously. “You’re just shy, aren’t you? Don’t let me intimidate you.”

Ryou drew Honda’s hand up to his lips, and smiled against it.

He wanted to reply, but all he could make was a rough sound. He fell back into his pool, realizing that he had been breathing only air for too long. Honda was left grasping at the air above his head as Ryou gulped in welcome mouthfuls of water and forced them out through his gills.

“Are you still there?”

Ryou choked on his reply, trying to mix air and water in his throat. “Here,” he gasped out.

“Are you all right?” Honda sounded so concerned, Ryou felt a little guilty. “Do you. . . will you have to leave?”

“I’ll be missed,” Ryou gasped, “I have to.”

“Then let me meet you again.” Honda’s hand gripped the rock, unable to find Ryou with his head barely above the water. Ryou was infinitely glad that Honda had not come around the corner to pursue him. “One more time.”

“One more time. I have to go.” Ryou ducked his head back down, welcoming the warm water.

Ryou couldn’t bear to wait for an answer. Honda might say something to make him want to stay. He couldn’t afford to stay.

Ryou felt he should have been elated. He had gotten to meet Honda again. He could visit him again and again, as long as Honda would keep his promise. Instead he wished he could weep. He had been drying out. He would have made himself sick if he stayed in the air too much longer. He could have suffocated and died if he forced himself to stay beyond that.

Ryou ached inside. He had wanted to see Honda again so badly that he had almost forgotten the consequences. Just as he knew Honda could not survive in his world, he would not be able to survive outside of it.

And yet, over the next few hours Ryou managed to bury his fear. He wanted to see Honda again. One more time, and, if he was lucky, the time after that, and again after that, and again. . . even knowing the danger he couldn’t stop thinking about going back.

* * *

Even though he went back to meet Honda, Ryou was too nervous to stay in the air. He kept ducking back into the water and then rising out again to speak to Honda. Every time his slipped back into the air he was aware of how cold the wind was, evaporating the seawater on his body.

Ryou shivered miserably. How could Honda live in this harsh wind and be so kind, he wondered, as he clasped Honda’s hand. How could someone surrounded by such cold air be so warm?

Honda spoke of his brothers and his best friend, it turned out the ‘Seto’ Jounouchi had warned him of on the ship was his older brother. He also had a younger brother, Mokuba, who was apparently in danger of being spoiled between the two of them. Talking about Jounouchi made him laugh a little as he told Ryou his friend would never believe what he was doing, talking to a boy who would only met him on the beach and tried to be invisible.

Ryou tried to respond in kind. He had no way of knowing what might give him away. He spoke of his oldest brother, always so serious and stern, and the next, so friendly and kind to him, but hesitated to speak of Bakura, even though he was his closest brother. His immediate brother, the one he had been born with, and the one who he would spend his life alongside. He didn’t want to tell Honda how opposed Bakura had been to his coming back.

His long silence must have worried Honda.

“Can you stay?”

Ryou curled in on himself. Somehow Honda had taken his worry to mean depression that he would have to leave again. He wasn’t wrong. “I’ll be missed if I stay much longer.”

“You must come back,” Honda told him, his warm hand clenching on Ryou’s when he didn’t receive a response. “I’m always thinking of you. . . I need to hear your voice again.”

“I. . .” Ryou couldn’t bring himself to respond in kind. He always thought of Honda, wondered where he went when he was away from the shore and beyond reach. He wasn’t sure what reaction saying something like that would bring.

“If I close my eyes,” Honda whispered, his hand clenching painfully tight on Ryou’s, “will you let me at least say goodbye to you?”

Ryou pulled himself halfway out of the water, shivering in the wind. “Promise me.”

Honda moved around the edge of the rock into Ryou’s view. “I won’t look.”

Ryou let Honda take him by the shoulders and pull him close. He stared into Honda’s face, trembling, but Honda kept his word. His eyes were shut tight.

“Will you come back for me?”

How desperate Honda’s words could make him face-to-face. . . Ryou could hardly believe it. His voice caught, not with dehydration, but with wonder. Honda was cupping his face now, holding him close.

“You’re trembling. Don’t be afraid of me.”

“I’m just cold.” It was true. Ryou shivered in the wind. He wouldn’t let himself be afraid of Honda now. He thought he would never fear another human again if the rest of them were anything like Honda.

“I can warm you,” Honda promised.

“You shouldn’t.”

“You’re leaving me. . .”

“I’ll always come back,” Ryou thought the words must be pouring directly from his heart, they certainly hadn’t passed through his mind before they were out in the air, “I feel for you. I will come back for you.”

“Thank you.”

Honda’s mouth descended on his then. Ryou felt a shock go through him as Honda’s hot, dry lips pressed against his. He had to wrap his arms around Honda’s shoulders to support himself.

Ryou couldn’t think. He let his eyes slide closed as Honda kissed him. Honda’s hands passed over his forehead, though his hair, across his cheeks, everywhere.

That first kiss seemed to go on forever, but when Honda released him, Ryou knew it had ended too soon. He slowly made himself release Honda, to slide back into the water and recover.

“Goodbye.”

Honda’s words fell on empty air. Ryou was already hidden and propelling himself into deeper water. He held one hand clasped over his mouth as though he could hold Honda’s kiss to himself, as though he might lose it in the water.

* * *

Honda lay back in the sand, dreaming. That boy. . . He was smitten, and he didn’t even know his love’s name.

Only once he was sure his love had gone had he opened his eyes. He had promised, after all. It was strange, though, that he had been lying in the water just to avoid being seen. Honda was sure that was why he had been so cold, lying in the cool ocean all that time. Not only that, but his hair had been wet when Honda ran his hands through it.

Honda licked his lips, savoring the one sweet kiss he had managed to steal before he had to let go. He had tasted salt on those soft lips.

Though Honda couldn’t be entirely sure why this boy would be lying in the water, he thought he must be coming and going through the ocean too. Not only that, but when he had been saved before, he had been out in the ocean.

There was no more doubt in Honda’s mind. He didn’t quite believe most of the stories about people living in the ocean beyond the fact that they must exist, but he knew that was what this boy had to be.

Honda knew that must be why he wasn’t allowed to look. He had always suspected that the sea people must be shy of being seen by humans. He smiled, thinking of that. He seemed so untouchable and mysterious, but he was just shy. Honda promised himself he would keep this boy’s confidence and watch over him. He would always keep him secret and safe.

* * *

“What did you think you were doing?”

“It was harmless.” Ryou knew it was useless to lie when Bakura had been watching them.

“Harmless.” Bakura had been dragging Ryou along by the arm, trying to make him swim faster. Now he turned on Ryou, glowering at his brother. “Harmless? You just let him-” Bakura trailed off with an angry snarl, as if what Honda had done was too horrible a crime to put a name to.

“He didn’t hurt me, did he?”

Bakura grumbled, and Ryou knew that his brother couldn’t deny that Honda had returned him in perfect condition.

“Could have bitten you,” Bakura argued at last. He rubbed the back of his hand against Ryou’s mouth, as if he could wipe Honda’s kiss away.

Ryou smiled shakily. It didn’t matter so much. He was sure he had not lost his chance to get another kiss.

* * *

Ryou twined his fingers in a clump of seaweed, tangling and untangling it absentmindedly as he watched his brother watching him. Yugi was sulking, mostly because Ryou had disappeared on him without a word going to visit Honda. He was used to Ryou disappearing and being unable to show anything for it when he returned, but that obviously didn’t make him any happier about it.

“I’m sorry,” Ryou finally said, trying to end the silent staring contest. “I just forgot.”

Yugi shook his head at Ryou’s carelessness, but he simply said, “I wish you’d tell me where you keep going. You weren’t in any of your normal haunts.”

Ryou ignored the temptation to confess. He didn’t want to tell Yugi, because Yugi would tell Yami, and Yami would either tell their fathers or put a stop to Ryou’s visits to land himself. Plus, Yugi would probably work a promise out of him not to go back. At least Bakura was letting him go as long as he kept his promise to stay hidden and safe.

“How was the celebration?” Ryou was a little depressed that he had missed most of the engagement feast, but he doubted anyone but Yugi had missed him. Both he and Bakura were normally half-invisible anyway, and that had its advantages.

Yugi blushed and flicked his tail fins at the sand in embarrassment. “Anzu was beautiful.”

Ryou laughed. “I saw that much.” He had come in for the last few minutes, late enough to have missed the official moments, but he had seen Anzu hugging Yugi and laughing happily, Yami’s hands had been on her shoulders protectively, and even he had been smiling. Ryou knew his soon-to-be sister had to be someone special to make his oldest brother smile like that.

Unfortunately, Yugi had seen him come in, though Ryou didn’t think anyone else had caught it. That was why he was in so much trouble now.

“It was the same ceremony as anyone has,” Yugi was looking troubled again, and Ryou didn’t think it was because of his tardiness this time.

“What?” Ryou dropped the bit of seaweed he had been playing with and put his hand comfortingly on his brother’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

Yugi tugged himself away from Ryou’s hand. “Nothing’s wrong.”

Ryou knew better. Soothing Yugi should probably be Yami’s job, but he suspected this had something to do with the engagement. “Are you worried about having to share Yami?” Marriage in the royal family was a strange affair, and one that Ryou wasn’t sure he was ready for. Twins were always born first in the family, and tradition dictated that the ruling pair marry together. Because they were considered two halves of the same whole, they both married the same person.

“It’s not that, exactly.” Yugi clenched the rock they had settled by with both hands to anchor himself. “I just wonder, maybe she loves him more than me. I think she does.”

Ryou couldn’t believe that. “I think she loves you,” he told Yugi. “I saw her smiling at you.”

“How would you know?” Yugi bit his lip and twisted away from Ryou slightly. Ryou watched Yugi uncomfortably, not sure what to say next. He drifted for a moment, meaning to give him a bit of space.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

“It’s fine.” Ryou laughed and tugged on Yugi’s tail fins teasingly to show him he wasn’t upset. “But I’m not a child anymore.”

Yugi straightened his back and tried to look impressive. He could look very much like his twin brother when he wanted to. “You are compared to me.”

“Am not,” Ryou argued, “I’ve kissed someone already, and you haven’t kissed Anzu yet.”

Yugi flicked his tail out of Ryou’s hand. “You did not.”

“Did.” Ryou conveniently ignored the fact that Honda had actually been the one kissing him. Either way, he thought it put him on par with Yugi.

“Who?”

Ryou fidgeted, embarrassed. “I can’t really tell you.”

Yugi’s attention was definitely caught by that. Any sort of puzzle was always intriguing to him. “Someone I know?”

“No one you know.”

“That’s where you were today.” Yugi didn’t even bother to make his conclusion into a question, but Ryou nodded anyway.

“Why won’t you tell me?” Yugi prodded.

Ryou smiled shakily, “I can’t be with him anyway.” He tugged on a new clump of seaweed just to have something to do with his hands, hesitating when one of the strands snapped free in his hand. He nervously twirled the broken piece between his fingers.

“Why not?” Yugi leaned closer, and Ryou noticed the look of concern on his face and managed to smile for him. “No one’s going to mind if you don’t have an heir.”

“It’s not that,” Ryou laughed. He hadn’t considered that a problem. It was ridiculous compared to his real trouble. He noticed that Yugi had picked up on the ‘him’ he had accidentally let slip right away. He would have to be careful not to let anything bigger slip. “It’s just. . . Bakura doesn’t like him.” He couldn’t mention the fact that Honda was a human, which probably made any lasting contact between them impossible, but Bakura hating him would be a problem for anyone he cared to chose.

“Bakura doesn’t like anyone.”

Ryou couldn’t help laughing again at Yugi’s tone of voice as he said that. It was true, but it still didn’t mean that he could have Bakura stuck with someone he didn’t like, no matter how much he himself liked Honda.

“Just because Bakura’s picky doesn’t mean you have to be alone your whole life.” Yugi crossed his arms as if he meant to lecture Ryou for his own good. “You have to make Bakura see what you see in him.”

Ryou bit his lip. He didn’t think he could do that. So long as Bakura thought Honda was a threat he would never listen to Ryou trying to explain his good points. “I’m not going to be alone. I’m always going to have Bakura.”

Yugi relaxed and laughed lightly. Ryou found himself smiling too. Yugi was probably the only one who could understand exactly what he meant. He truly did care for Honda, but the thing that kept him whole and calm when thinking that he would never be able to stay with Honda was that Bakura would still be at his side, no matter what.

* * *

Ryou waited almost an hour to find Honda the next day. He stayed in deeper water so he could watch the beach from a safe distance, and also because he didn’t want to dry out any sooner than he could help. He didn’t want to waste the time he had with Honda.

Also because Bakura insisted. Ryou curled around a rock outcropping that just barely broke the surface, only pushing himself out far enough to see the beach properly. Beside him he could hear Bakura muttering angrily. For once he didn’t sound angry that Ryou had dragged him back to visit Honda again. Instead he was griping that Honda was making them wait.

Ryou couldn’t help smiling to himself at Bakura’s choice of rant. Grumpy or not, he knew Bakura was doing this in his best interests, not because he enjoyed stalking Ryou or watching him with his human.

Ryou paused at that thought. Since when was Honda his? He didn’t think he had a right to claim to possess Honda.

Then Honda arrived and Ryou had no trouble shaking the bothersome thoughts out of his head as he dove and started toward their meeting place. Bakura’s last words of caution and the advice that he should bite Honda if he tried to steal another kiss echoed through the water after him.

As Ryou surfaced in his usual place he could hear Honda setting himself on the other side of the rock. He could see Honda’s fingers fidgeting in the sand just beyond the corner of the boulder, and his own hand inched toward them automatically.

“Honda,” Ryou called softly as his fingertips brushed Honda’s.

“You’re here.” Honda curled his fingers around Ryou’s in return. “Were you waiting for me?”

“Yes.”Ryou wasn’t sure what sort of answer Honda was looking for, so he added, “but not for very long.”

“Good.” Honda tugged Ryou’s hand a little closer, and ran his thumb lightly over Ryou’s knuckles. “I didn’t want to make you wait, since you’re never here long.”

Ryou wiggled a little closer. The way Honda said it almost sounded like he was saying ‘never here as long as I want you to be,’ but he hadn’t said that, so Ryou couldn’t let himself assume. “It’s fine. You always come sooner or later.”

Honda shifted closer too, but not far enough to be looking at Ryou. “Why do you keep coming back?”

Ryou clenched his hand on Honda’s in surprise, but forced himself to relax when he realized his nails were digging into Honda’s hand. “To see you,” Ryou explained.

“But I can’t see you,” Honda laughed. It should have been a joke, but the forced sound of his laugh only made Ryou tense. It felt obvious that Honda wanted to peek, even though he had restrained himself so far. “But why me?”

Ryou didn’t know. He didn’t really want to think about it, either, but Honda expected an answer. He had only meant to make sure Honda was well, but it was obvious he was, and yet Ryou kept coming back to be near him.

“Sorry.” Honda released Ryou’s hand and ignored the way Ryou’s fingers twitched toward his hand to reclaim it. “I think I’ve been too forward.”

“No,” Ryou whispered, gripping at the sand instead, “I don’t know.”

“I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“But you didn’t look,” Ryou protested.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh.” Ryou felt his cheeks flush at the memory. “No. That was fine.”

Honda let out an exasperated sigh, and Ryou didn’t know what to tell him to make him happy. Was he annoyed that Ryou was accepting what he had done? Or was he disappointed that the kiss he had given Ryou was only ‘fine?’

“There’s nothing to apologize about,” Ryou amended, “because I. . .” Ryou had to swallow hard before he could say, “I thought you might do it again.”

“That’s why you came back?” Honda’s hand was covering his again, so Ryou thought he must have said the right thing.

“No, but,” Ryou tried not to think of how irritated Bakura would be if he could hear him stumbling over his words right now, “I would. . . I still. . .”

“It’s fine.”

Honda leaned around the rock, and Ryou gasped softly before he saw that Honda’s eyes were closed again, and he was still safe.

“As long as you want to.” Honda reached blindly for Ryou, and Ryou moved forward to meet Honda’s hand, nuzzling into his palm and making him smile.

Honda shifted his hand to cup the back of Ryou’s head, and Ryou found himself leaning forward, anticipating Honda’s kiss.

Honda stopped at the last moment, simply rubbing the back of Ryou’s neck instead. Not giving himself time to worry about it, Ryou closed the remaining distance himself until their noses bumped and he could brush his mouth lightly against Honda’s.

Giving him a small smile, Honda admitted, “I didn’t think you would do that.”

“You don’t have to know everything about me,” Ryou pointed out. He felt brave enough to wrap one arm around Honda’s shoulders to support himself.

Still smiling, Honda moved to give Ryou another soft kiss. He lingered and whispered against Ryou’s lips, “Still not giving up any of your secrets?”

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything.” Honda brushed his lips lightly over Ryou’s again. “I want to know everything about you.”

Ryou nipped at Honda’s lip, trying to buy himself time to think. He watched Honda’s lips curve into a playful smile at that tiny bite. He obviously couldn’t tell Honda everything, but that had still been a nice thing for Honda to say. It made him want to at least say something.

“I can’t give up all my secrets.”

Honda laughed, as Ryou had hoped he would. He slipped his arms around Ryou’s shoulders and pulled him closer. Ryou found himself smiling in return as Honda tilted his head to kiss him again.

“You always want to be such a mystery,” Honda whispered, “but I want to know you.”

Ryou nuzzled against Honda’s cheek, looking for something that was safe to tell Honda. He let his fingers brush Honda’s lips as he murmured, “You’re the only one who knows this.”

“Hm,” Honda paused to kiss Ryou again. His hands were slowly migrating down Ryou’s back, moving to grip him right beneath his shoulders, squeezing him hard enough to make him breathless. “What can I do to keep it that way?”

“I won’t tell anyone,” Ryou promised. He felt a little guilty for bragging to Yugi now, but he wouldn’t tell anyone else.

“That’s not what I meant.”

For a moment Ryou didn’t understand what Honda was talking about. As he realized, his face went red with embarrassment and he tightened his grip. “It’ll only be you.”

“Can I hold you to that?”

“Can you just hold me?”

Honda laughed again lightly. “Yes.” His hands were creeping down Ryou’s back, coming dangerously close to his gills.

“Honda,” Ryou gasped, each time his lips brushed Honda’s he found it hard to think of anything else.

“Can I keep you close?”

Honda’s hands slipped lower, brushing Ryou’s gills, and Ryou let out a little cry of pain and pushed Honda away. They were still sore from being hit during the storm, and Honda suddenly touching them had hurt more than he could have expected.

“You’re hurt!” Honda was pulling him close again in an instant, though he kept his hands higher on Ryou’s back, away from his ‘wound.’

“It’s fine. Just don’t touch me there.” Ryou found himself trembling again, not from pain, but from the paranoia that Honda might discover any moment that what he had touched was Ryou’s gills, not a wound.

“You’re hurt,” Honda repeated. He hugged Ryou close, his hand resting just above Ryou’s gills. “I know I felt something there. Don’t you need to treat that? Did you hurt yourself coming here?”

“No.” Ryou leaned his head against Honda’s shoulder. “That’s something else. It doesn’t hurt to see you. It doesn’t hurt.” Even as Ryou said that, he knew his throat was drying out again. His voice was getting rough and it did hurt a little for him to speak.

“Let me help you.”

“I have to go,” Ryou said at the same time.

“Don’t.” Honda tightened his grip, and Ryou knew Honda could keep him there by force if he tried. He squirmed in Honda’s arms. Honda might want him to stay, but he couldn’t survive here, not even with Honda’s care.

“I have to.”

“Because I hurt you?”

“No. You didn’t.”

Honda caught Ryou by the chin and tilted his face up so he could kiss him again, more forcefully than before. Ryou opened his mouth under Honda’s, unable to pull away. He found himself wanting to cling to Honda, even when Honda finally released him.

“I’ll come back,” Ryou promised.

* * *

For the moment, Bakura was too angry to even talk to him. Ryou didn’t exactly mind. He knew the lecture would begin soon enough, and he wouldn’t be able to pay attention to it now anyway. His mind was completely taken up with thoughts of Honda.

“You should have bitten him.” Bakura’s rant was beginning sooner than Ryou had expected.

“I did bite him.” Ryou didn’t bother to point out that it had been more of a nibble, and hadn’t hurt Honda as far as he knew.

“And he didn’t care?”

“I think he liked it.”

“Barbarian,” Bakura grumbled.

Ryou had to suppress a smile. He hugged Bakura from behind and laughed quietly when Bakura growled out a fresh stream of complaints. He thought it was a good sign that Bakura was only complaining about Honda touching too much, and not actively threatening him. It might be too much to ask that he actually trust Honda the way that Ryou did, but it was still progress.

* * *

“May I kiss you?”

Ryou hesitated. Bakura had gotten so upset before, though he still didn’t see the harm in it. But Bakura wasn’t here now, and he was the one kissing Honda, so shouldn’t it be his choice?

“I would like that.” Ryou pushed himself up a little onto the sand, waiting for Honda to come to meet him.

Honda’s eyes were already closed. He moved to sit on the sand beside Ryou, reaching out for him and cupping his face gently. Ryou let out a little gasp and tilted his face up to meet Honda’s, anticipating the kiss. For a moment he savored the feeling of Honda’s lips brushing over his.

“Feeling better?” Honda asked.

“Yes.” Ryou knew he was blushing. He tried to laugh at himself. It was embarrassing to have Honda ask something like that.

Honda smiled at him. “Again?”

“Yes.” Ryou wrapped his arms around Honda and pulled himself up to meet those warm lips again.

When had he started feeling like this? At first he had been concerned for Honda. Maybe he had been a bit fascinated because he was so alien, so different from anything Ryou had known. Now he was familiar. Being close to him made Ryou feel warm and safe. Being kissed by him sent a thrill through Ryou, but it was nothing like fear. It was something amazing, something special.

Honda cupped the back of Ryou’s head with one hand, his other hand sneaking down Ryou’s back towards his gills.

“Wait. . .” Ryou squirmed uncomfortably in Honda’s grip.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re touching. . .”

“Somewhere I’m not allowed to touch?” Honda moved to kiss Ryou’s cheek.

“It’s not that.” Ryou dodged Honda’s attempts to distract him. “It’s not comfortable, and he. . .”

“Who?” Honda’s grip tightened, pulling Ryou closer when he tried to move away. He seemed suddenly possessive, ready to blindly defend Ryou.

Ryou almost didn’t notice the change in Honda’s tone. He was distracted, looking out into the ocean. Someone’s head had surfaced between the waves, Bakura had followed him again. He should have known better than to think he wouldn’t.

When their eyes met, Bakura raised one hand above the water, showing his brother that he had come armed. Ryou shrunk back, eyes caught by the spear. He knew Bakura must have brought it because he was annoyed by Ryou trying to slip away from him. He couldn’t give Bakura a reason to use that on Honda.

“My brother,” Ryou tried to explain, “He’s worried about me, and. . . he doesn’t trust you.”

“But what about you?” Honda touched Ryou’s lips lightly with his fingers. “This is about you. If you’re not comfortable, that’s what matters.”

“I trust you.”

“I’m glad.” Honda still moved his hands to rest more comfortably on Ryou’s shoulders. Ryou relaxed and nuzzled up into Honda for another kiss. At least his sensitive gills weren’t in danger now.

“You know,” Honda whispered against Ryou’s mouth, “I think,” he paused to kiss Ryou again, thoughtfully, “I think I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Ryou reeled at those words. He hadn’t expected Honda to feel anything like that, let alone say it. He tried to tell himself he shouldn’t be letting Honda carry on with these delusions, but he couldn’t stop the warm feeling spreading through his chest.

When he didn’t answer, Honda shook his head, holding Ryou tight against him. “I’ve fallen for you, and I don’t even know you. I still don’t even know your name!”

“Honda,” Ryou started, but he was cut off by Honda kissing him hard. He tried to make a noise of surprise, but as soon as he opened his mouth Honda took it as an invitation to deepen the kiss. Ryou closed his eyes tightly, clinging to Honda as he was kissed more thoroughly then he had ever imagined.

As Honda released him, Ryou let his eyes slip open and found. . .

Honda was gazing directly into his eyes, smiling at him. Ryou tried to pull back, afraid to meet Honda’s eyes, not wanting to believe that he had been betrayed.

“You,” Ryou gasped as his hands dropped from Honda’s shoulders and clenched in the sand on either side of him. Not this, not with Bakura watching. He did the only thing he could think of to get Honda’s eyes off of him. Jerking back out of Honda’s arms, Ryou threw a handful of sand into Honda’s eyes. “I told you not to look at me!”

With a startled yell, Honda pressed his hands over his eyes. Ryou hesitated. He knew he should escape now, but he couldn’t. He threw his arms back around Honda’s neck.

“I’m sorry,” Ryou gasped out as he realized he wouldn’t be able to come back.

“No.” Honda wrapped one arm around Ryou, while he kept rubbing his eyes with the other. “I wasn’t even thinking.”

Ryou let out a pained whimper, willing Honda to be quiet. It didn’t matter what was said now.

“By why? There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re beautiful,” Honda managed to say, but Ryou couldn’t appreciate the words at all.

Ryou shrunk back, not knowing how much Honda might have seen. If Honda knew what he really was, could he still trust him?

Honda reached out blindly, trying to hold him again. “I didn’t mean to look!”

Then Bakura was there, grabbing Ryou by the arm to pull him back out into the ocean.

“I’m sorry!” Honda kept one hand over his eyes, the other still groping blindly for Ryou.

Only by throwing his full weight against his brother was Ryou able to keep him from stabbing Honda. He tried to push Honda back from the water with one hand, while holding Bakura away with the other. Even now, he couldn’t let Honda come to harm.

“Let me kill him,” his brother growled, trying to shoulder Ryou out of the way.

Honda caught hold of Ryou’s arm and pulled him back painfully. He didn’t seem to have heard Bakura’s threat, let alone realize the danger he was in. “Don’t leave. I won’t fail you again,” he promised. “Just stay with me.”

“I can’t.” Ryou’s hands were full just hanging on to Bakura’s spear. He couldn’t push Honda away or comfort him, even if he could decide which he truly wanted to do.

“I love you! Don’t go!”

Ryou wanted to give those words the consideration they deserved, but he knew he couldn’t hold his brother back forever. He couldn’t let Bakura hurt Honda. “I can never see you again.”

Ryou thought his heart would break saying those words. He let Bakura drag him back under the water, away from Honda. He knew he really could never see Honda again, not after that. Bakura would never allow it.

“I should have told father from the beginning.” Bakura yanked painfully on Ryou’s arm when he tried to linger. “You should have realized how stupid that was! Sneaking off to see that human!”

Ryou knew he couldn’t go back. He knew his brothers wouldn’t let him out of their sight now. They would keep him safe, but he could never see Honda again.

Ryou had never felt his heart ache like this. Just knowing he couldn’t see Honda again hurt, and he didn’t even know why. There were so many other things he wanted to tell Honda. He hadn’t even taken the time to tell Honda his name.

It hurt, thinking about Honda now. Thinking that he could never get close to Honda again made Ryou’s chest hurt too much for words. It was just as well that he couldn’t speak. Ryou wouldn’t let himself make a sound to betray his feelings, he wouldn’t give Bakura another reason to go back and hunt Honda with his spear.

Still, with every cry he swallowed, his broken heart continued to ache.


	3. Chapter 3

Ryou couldn’t even leave home without Bakura following him. The surface was utterly off limits, and the only time Ryou could steal even a few seconds alone was when he slipped into the deeper places, well away from the forbidden edges of the ocean.

Even though Bakura insisted he hadn’t told anyone, insisted he wouldn’t need to as long as Ryou kept himself home and out of trouble, everyone knew. He had known his fathers would have found out quickly, whether Bakura kept it from him or not. How could he have been ignorant of anything that happened in his ocean?

Now that Ryou had time to think on it, he had to wonder why his fathers had ever let him save Honda in the first place. They had sent the storm that he had dragged Honda out of on that fateful night. Their attention had to have been focused on that part of the ocean. If they had wanted to separate him from Honda then it would have been all too easy for them.

Perhaps they hadn’t expected Ryou to go and get involved with a human. Yugi certainly hadn’t expected it. Ryou wasn’t sure if he should feel as if he had been betrayed by his older brother now that Yugi had refused to speak to him, or if he should be trying to make up with him.

Ryou spent the night in the closest place to Honda he could actually get. He had found the remains of the ship Honda had been on when he had first seen him. He drifted over the wreck, trying to think, but he couldn’t get Honda’s last words out of his head.

Ryou knew he had to get Honda out of his mind. After all, he knew Honda was well now. He had only promised himself he would look after Honda and be sure he recovered. Now he needed to show his family that he could be trusted to never go near the shore again.

He couldn’t bring himself to do it. Ryou didn’t want to think on why. He was afraid of what he would find if he looked too deep inside of himself.

“I knew I would find you sulking here.”

Ryou looked up listlessly. There was a hole in the deck from when the rest of the mast had been lost as the ship sank. Bakura was hanging upside down through the jagged gap.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” Ryou muttered.

To Ryou’s surprise, Bakura stayed where he was. “Don’t be like that.”

Ryou bit his lip, looking up at his closest brother. He thought he understood. He hated to fight Bakura. They had been born together. They weren’t meant hurt each other.

All the same, Ryou was finding that there were things that hurt just as much as fighting with his brother. “You were going to kill him.”

“He was trying to hurt you.” Bakura crossed his arms sullenly. “I saw it. I was helping you.”

Ryou had to reach out to the nearest wall for support. The feeling of wood beneath his fingers was dangerously nostalgic. “It wasn’t that.” Ryou wished he had an escape route as he forced himself to continue. “He was looking right at me and I just panicked. He was trying to calm me down.”

“He saw you?”

Bakura pushed himself through the gap in a rush. Before Ryou could get away his brother’s hands were on his shoulders, gripping almost hard enough to bruise.

“Ryou, you could have been killed!”

“No,” Ryou cried, “He wouldn’t, he said. . .”

“What, that he was going to eat you?” Bakura was glaring at him.

Ryou trembled. He wished Bakura could understand that Honda wasn’t a threat. At least he didn’t feel like a threat to him. Ryou was nervous to think on Honda’s feelings for him, but at least he knew Honda meant him no harm.

“Bakura, I’m being serious.”

“So am I.” With an obvious effort, Bakura relaxed his grip until he at least wasn’t hurting his twin. “Can’t you see I’m trying to protect you?”

“I know, but,” Ryou stumbled over his words. He wasn’t sure he wanted to repeat any of the things Honda had said to him, not even the words Bakura had been there to hear. They all felt too private to him. “He said. . . I mean he. . . I don’t think he minded.”

Bakura growled. “It shouldn’t even be an issue that he would mind what you look like. That’s what you get with humans.”

Ryou shook his head. He would have laughed if the situation was not so serious.

“Aren’t you being prejudiced?”

Bakura let go of him, glaring at the rotting wood instead.

“Bakura,” Ryou called softly. He reached forward to touch his brother. “I know he wouldn’t have hurt me. I wish you could have trusted him.”

“I don’t care. He can’t have my little brother.”

Ryou almost smiled in spite of himself. “This isn’t the kind of arrangement where you have to like him too.”

“Can’t have you.”

Ryou curled in on himself. He already knew that Honda couldn’t have him, and in return he couldn’t have Honda. He should have realized that it would end this way, but he had been too caught up in the moment to think.

“I’m trying to protect you.” Bakura reached over and uneasily patted Ryou’s head. “Listen to me, just this once.”

Ryou knew his brother loved him. He wasn’t about to admit that to Bakura now, that would only give him more leverage. Besides, Bakura could already feel that he didn’t have any strength left to fight, anyway. He knew Bakura thought he knew best. He couldn’t admit that either. Bakura would take it as admitting that he did know what was best for his little brother.

Bakura might be his other half, but Ryou was starting to think there was someone else who was as dear to him as even that. He knew Bakura wasn’t the only one who loved him. There was no way he could doubt Honda’s words.

There was also no way those words could lead to anything. Ryou wanted to bury them deep in his heart, let scars form around them until they didn’t hurt to think about anymore. He didn’t want to think anymore.

* * *

Ryou did his best to avoid Yugi, at least at first. He knew Bakura finding him was inevitable, they both had what almost amounted to a sixth sense when it came to finding one another. At least he could put off having to face any more of Yugi’s disappointment

In the end, it was Yami who found him. Ryou had taken to sheltering in the remains of ships, but he couldn’t keep away from what he had started to think of as Honda’s wreck. Eventually Yami caught him drifting near the hull, unsure of where to go next.

A firm hand on Ryou’s elbow grabbed his attention far more effectively that any noise Yami could have made. Ryou froze, peering over his shoulder at his eldest brother. He had always been a little in awe of Yami. He seemed so unapproachable.

“Yugi is worried about you.”

Ryou blinked. Yami’s tone implied that he was only bringing this up because it was Yugi’s idea, since Ryou didn’t look wounded or diseased. His straightforward approach didn’t give Ryou a chance to feel nervous, at least. He knew Yami was an honest person, and if he was angry he would come out and say it.

“I know,” Ryou answered hesitantly. He thought Yami managed to look even more annoyed at that. After all, if Ryou knew, then why couldn’t he go see Yugi himself? Why did they have to come catch him?

“Ryou?” Yugi’s soft voice made Ryou start guiltily. He looked up to find Yugi floating over what remained of the ships railings.

“Hello.” Ryou didn’t know what else to say. He really didn’t want to face this conversation.

“Where have you been?” Yugi swam down to meet them, and Ryou found that instead of looking furious at Ryou for keeping secrets from him, he wore the usual pout he saved for when he felt Ryou had been avoiding him.

“Around.” Ryou tried to drift away from Yami, but as long as his oldest brother hung on to his arm it enforced a barrier on how far he could go.

“You haven’t even been home.”

Ryou didn’t respond. He was preoccupied watching Yugi. It seemed that he was taking care not to touch the wood, while Ryou might have brushed his hands over it to find fond memories. He could only wonder what the ship meant to Yugi that made him so nervous. While it spoke to him of Honda’s world, saturated by his warmth and overflowing with wonders that Ryou would never see, he knew his brothers didn’t see that. At best it would mean nothing to them but another bulky obstacle, at worst a symbol of whatever horror wanted to take him away from them.

Yugi was slowly getting more annoyed by Ryou’s lack of response. “Have you been here the whole time?”

Ryou tugged his arm free of Yami’s grip and rubbed his elbow, though Yami hadn’t hurt him. He watched from the corner of his eye as Yami moved to float beside his other half. They didn’t have to worry, after all. Ryou wasn’t about to swim for it.

“I was thinking,” Ryou finally told them. “I’m sorry to worry you.”

Yugi crossed his arms. “It’s too late for that, don’t you think?”

Ryou nodded meekly. He wasn’t used to Yugi holding a grudge after someone acknowledged what they had done wrong.

“You could have told me.”

“You know why I couldn’t,” Ryou started.

“You should have told me.” Yugi darted closer, coming directly between Ryou and the hull of the wreck. “All you would say was that Bakura didn’t like him. Of course Bakura didn’t like him. He never should have let you go near him.”

So someone must have told Yugi he had been off meeting a human, and he put the two facts together and decided Ryou had shared his kiss with Honda. Did he guess that Ryou was in love as well? He was too close for comfort. “Bakura told you?”

Yugi shook his head. His voice dropped to a whisper as he told Ryou, “Dad was furious.”

Ryou would have liked to be surprised, but he couldn’t bring himself to fake it. Of course his fathers knew. Ryou just wondered how he had gotten away with it for so long.

His fathers were apparently too angry to even speak to him about it. Bakura hated Honda simply because he thought he would be dangerous. Ryou strongly suspected that it could get worse. “And you?”

Yugi wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I don’t know. I don’t know him, but. . . isn’t he horrible, bloodthirsty? Isn’t he dangerous? Weren’t you scared?”

“No.” Ryou wanted to reach out to Yugi, to thank him for at least giving him a chance to speak on Honda’s behalf. Yami caught his arm again and shook his head at him.

“We’re taking you home.”

“You don’t have to.” Ryou wasn’t even going to try to go back to Honda.

“Everyone gives you too much free reign. You can’t even take care of yourself.” Yami tugged on Ryou to get him swimming. Yugi had to move quickly to catch up with them.

It took Ryou a minute to realize that Yami’s rough attitude was because he was worried too. Even though it was a relief to know that, he wished they would all let him be.

“I want to believe you,” Yugi told him. Ryou turned to watch the wide-eyed expression on Yugi’s face. He knew what Yugi was saying without words, that he didn’t know how to believe Ryou. He didn’t know if he dared to believe Ryou, for both of their sakes.

“Thank you.” It was all Ryou could say. It seemed that was more than he could ask of anyone.

* * *

Ryou found himself trapped at home the next day. His fathers still hadn’t made any move to confront him, though he saw them often. He couldn’t be sure if they were too angry to even speak with him, or if they simply felt no need to scold him now that Bakura had taken over the task of keeping him in line. Maybe they just didn’t know what to do with unruly children, what with Yugi and Yami normally being so manageable, though Ryou highly doubted that option.

Bakura stayed with him most of the time, probably to keep him from swimming off to another shipwreck and further damaging his reputation. They were both silent around each other. Neither could think of much to say that hadn’t already been said.

It was when Ryou was drifting around the spring that some past kings had erected behind the palace itself, searching for distraction, that he discovered what he had to do.

With Honda’s ship denied to him, Ryou found a new solace in watching the spring. It was fueled by a natural fissure in the rock, one barely wide enough to slip a finger into, that plunged deep into the earth. Strange gasses had always bubbled up from there in short, shimmering chains. At some point carved stone had been fixed over the spring so that the bubbles were forced into graceful arcs before they rushed towards the surface.

Ryou watched the bubbles twist their way around the angles of stone, watched them struggle up until they could break free and float towards the surface so far above them, and he couldn’t help but think they were escaping. They were escaping into the sunlit world where Honda waited for him. Suddenly Ryou wanted nothing more than to join them in rushing up to the surface that separated his world from Honda’s.

Someone so precious he was worth escaping home for. Ryou tilted his head back, but he could not see the sky from where he was. Even without seeing it, he knew that there was someone dear enough to make that alien sky beautiful.

“I love him.” The words should have meant nothing as long as Honda couldn’t hear him. Now it almost didn’t matter that Honda couldn’t hear. Ryou heard them, and he knew them to be true.

If Bakura heard as well, he didn’t answer.

* * *

It took most of the day for Ryou to slip out from under Bakura’s watch. After moping around quiet and defeated for the last few days, Bakura must have thought he had given up. He seized his chance the first moment Bakura was distracted and darted away into deep water, hoping to get far enough that Bakura wouldn’t be able to see him to give chase.

He sent a silent apology to Bakura once he was out of sight. If he could, he would have wanted to stay at his brother’s side, but he was making a choice to go to Honda.

Ryou paused just inside the rift he had struck for after giving Bakura the slip. He didn’t have any proof that Honda really needed him, but he tried not to question his own convictions. Besides, he probably wouldn’t even manage to get near Honda at all. He would just get both himself and Bakura in trouble and end up with a tighter guard on him.

Ryou drifted deeper into the rift. From above the crack looked like a crocked grin, but he had never realized how treacherous the inside was, or how narrow of a space he had to slip through. There was probably a better route to where he needed to go, but Ryou didn’t know any other way.

Ryou finally found the cave he was looking for and swam close enough to peer inside. He knew enough to realize it would be useless to ask the Sea Witch for help. Not that he didn’t think the Witch could help him, but he doubted that he would. Besides, he couldn’t help being nervous about him.

Ryou always felt a bit rude thinking about Pegasus as ‘The Witch,’ but it was considered a formal title. No one had ever seen a need for more than one. Ryou almost wished he had a choice now. Pegasus was very eccentric, and scared him a little. He had only seen him a few times, when his fathers had consulted with him, or when he was invited to formal celebrations for the sake of friendly relations.

Pegasus’ hair had gone shock-white before his time, and the currents around him never seemed able to tease it into twists or soft curls as it could for all others. It always hung in cold sheets.

One of his eyes was usually hidden beneath that hair, but Ryou had seen it once, for only an instant. It was an unnatural golden color, and scar tissue surrounded it, making the lid nearly black, as if the eye had been torn out and later replaced. Ryou shuddered to think of that hidden eye. It seemed that he should be blind in that ruined eye, instead Ryou had gotten the feeling that in that instant that Pegasus’ strange eye could have looked right through him, to his very core.

Ordinarily, Ryou would have avoided the Witch. Only the thought of being parted from Honda forever could make his nervousness at facing Pegasus feel like nothing. In the face of his newly discovered love, he would not allow fear to hinder him.

Ryou put one hand on the wall of the rough-hewn passage and pulled himself inside. It should have been pitch black ahead, but a soft glow at the end of the passage reassured Ryou that he was in the right place.

“Hello?” Ryou called. He paused at the end of the passage and peeked into the cave beyond. He didn’t know if anyone would be expecting him or not. Wouldn’t he have some way to sense approaching visitors?

Perhaps Pegasus did know he was coming, and had simply taken some back exit so he wouldn’t be bothered, because the cave was empty. Silt had settled in strange patterns over the floor, and there was an eerie glow coming from a basin in the middle of the cave.

Ryou drifted closer to the glow and peered curiously into the basin. There was some sort of rolling, twisting mass was suspended in the basin, giving off an eerie green glow. It was twisting around itself as if trying to escape, but it kept running into an invisible barrier keeping it from leaving the basin.

Watching, Ryou couldn’t be sure if the thing in the basin was alive, or simply a very restless mass of magic. He didn’t want to touch it to find out.

“What do you think you’re doing here?”

Ryou froze. He didn’t want to be cursed for lurking uninvited in the home of one of the most powerful creatures in the sea.

“Ryou?” A note of surprise crept into the voice.

Ryou blinked, startled. He turned his head, wondering why that voice sounded familiar.

“Miho?” He knew she had started her apprenticeship to the Sea Witch months ago, but it still hadn’t occurred to him that he would find her here.

“What are you doing here?” She repeated, though Ryou was relieved to note that she sounded more confused than angry now.

“I just,” Ryou was reluctant to explain why he had come to Miho, who he already knew, “I need help.”

Miho flicked her tail once and drifted closer, edging Ryou out of the way so she could check on the rolling green magic in the basin. Ryou thought she was trying to dodge answering him.

“Are you-”

“He’s not here.” Miho gave him a wounded look. She was probably sick of people bothering her just to see her teacher.

“That’s not what I was going to ask.” Ryou wasn’t entirely sure if that was why Miho was suddenly upset with him, but he tried to be as polite as he had always been to her to make up for it. “How is your apprenticeship going?”

Miho’s face lit up in a smile. “I love it! I’m learning so much here. I can even watch what’s happening back home now.”

Miho paused and gave Ryou a significant look that made him wonder if she knew everything he had gotten up to in the past few weeks.

“Your brothers announced their betrothal, didn’t they?”

Ryou nodded slowly. He watched Miho’s face carefully, wondering where she was going with this.

Miho looked strangely uncomfortable as she asked, “And you?”

Ryou had to swallow a laugh before he could tell her, “Not me.” Yugi and Yami were a matched set. If they were going to court anyone, he didn’t belong in the middle of it.

Miho brightened up at his answer, but Ryou barely noticed. He curled in on himself in thought. He realized he probably knew what Miho was really trying to get at. That was the whole reason he had come for help. He didn’t want to be without Honda.

“I found someone,” Ryou admitted. He tried not to note Miho’s expression. “But it won’t work. It could never work. I don’t know what to do.”

He heard Miho expel the water in her gills in an angry rush. “We don’t do love spells,” she told him sharply.

“I wasn’t planning on asking for one.”

“But you came here for help.”

“Yes.” Ryou hesitated, flicking his tail at the rocks below him in agitation. He didn’t really have anything left to lose, he told himself, he had to try. “I would have to be human.”

Miho made a pained noise.

“I don’t even know if it can be done, but I have to try.”

“I won’t do that!” Miho cried, “You’re mad if you think I would do that to you!”

Ryou already knew that. “I’m in love,” he told her, feeling as if that was the same thing as going mad. Maybe it was. More importantly, Miho had said that she wouldn’t make him human, not that she couldn’t. “You don’t have to do anything. I’ll wait until your teacher returns.”

“What do you think you’re going to use for collateral?”

Ryou hadn’t had time to take anything with him. “I’ll work something out.”

“Ryou,” Miho whispered, “You can’t do this.”

“I have to try. I have to at least. . . have to say something.” Ryou flicked his tail down hard enough to send a loose rock skidding across the cave. He cursed himself silently, so much for appearing calm.

“Do you even know this person?” Miho drifted closer, her eyes wide, “You can’t, can you?”

Ryou shook his head in denial. He couldn’t know Honda, shouldn’t know him, but he did. He knew how Honda smelled and tasted and sounded and he couldn’t say a thing.

“What will you do if you’re stranded out there? What if you’re rejected? What if you’re killed?” With each question Miho darted closer until she was nose to nose with Ryou. “You can’t.”

“I will.” It was hard enough making the decision. He didn’t want to have to defend it to Miho as well. He knew he wouldn’t regret it if he could just see Honda again.

“I don’t want you to go.”

“I know,” Ryou tried to touch Miho’s arm to reassure her, but pulled back at the last second, leaving only a ripple in the water to brush over her. “But if you can’t help me. I’ll find a way on my own.”

“I can help you. I can make you human.”

Ryou blinked in surprise. He didn’t think he would hear that after she had told him he couldn’t go. “But you don’t want to?”

Miho shook her head. “I don’t want to.” There was a strange look on her face, and Ryou didn’t think he liked it. “I’ll make you a bet.”

“What kind of bet?”

“You can’t pay, can you?” Miho tilted her head at him. “If you win, you won’t have to pay.”

“What am I betting against?” Ryou tried to drift away from Miho. The way she was acting was making him uneasy.

“You want this person to fall in love with you, don’t you?” Miho followed him. “What will you do if they don’t fall for you? The spell will have been wasted.”

Ryou shifted uneasily. “You’re betting that I fail?”

Miho bit her lip, but nodded. “If you fail, I want you to come back.”

“That’s it?” Ryou knew it was an unfair bet. Honda had already told him that he loved him, after all, but if that was all Miho wanted, he could at least come to the shore often. He wanted to be able to see Bakura anyway.

Miho caught his face between both of her hands. “Come back to me.”

“Oh.” Ryou wanted to pull away, but he was afraid to find out what would happen if he offended her. His childhood acquaintance seemed suddenly strange.

“But if I win?”

Miho pressed a kiss into the center of Ryou’s forehead.

“You win, if this human girl of yours kisses you.” Miho set her jaw in determination as Ryou nodded, wondering idly what she meant by ‘girl.’ “If she loves you, and can give you a kiss as proof. . .” She hesitated, hands falling away from Ryou. “You stay.”

“What do I have to do?” Miho looked to him in confusion until Ryou added, “The spell.”

Miho smiled shakily. “Leave that to me.”

Before Ryou could question her further she flitted into another section of the cave. He followed and stopped in the entrance to watch her work. He was afraid to interrupt with the way she was flinging ingredients acround the room, though nearly all of them landed in the indent in the middle of the floor.

Bubbles spewed from the mixture, becoming trapped in the ceiling. Great clouds of silt spread in all directions until Miho made an irritated gesture at them and they were sucked back to their places on the floor.

Ryou edged forward, watching intently, though he couldn’t even recognize what was happening. A pair of spined tentacles rose from the middle of the grainy mixture, it looked almost like sand, and swept across it, smoothing it before exploding into a fine plume of silt and settling back into the basin.

“Come here.” Miho caught him by the arm and dragged him close to her mixture. She took one finger and drew a small symbol in the sand. Sunrise on the waves, slashes to indicate the passage of time, and a sunset.

“This is for today,” she told him. She moved partway around the rim of the basin and repeated the pattern. “This is tomorrow.” She moved again and made a final pattern so that the entire rim of the basin was taken up with her strange calender. “And this is the day after that.”

An instrument appeared in her hand as if she had drawn it from the water itself. She stabbed the tip of it into the third sunset. Ryou stretched out his fingers automatically to touch it. It looked like a piece of obsidian carved to form a spiral, but it pulsed strangely.

“This is the spell?”

“This is the contract.” Miho pressed her hand, palm down, into the sand and gestured for him to do the same. “If you don’t get that kiss in three days the spell will reverse itself, and you’ll be back to normal.”

“Three days?” That wasn’t very much time at all. Ryou hoped he could find Honda and convince him of who he was quickly. He didn’t even know where Honda went once he was out of sight from the ocean.

“Well?”

Ryou pressed his hand into the sand to seal his half of the contract. Bakura would never forgive him.

Light rose from the sand in a cloud. It surround him and dazzled him, making him squint as he tried to take it in. The light quickly decayed into a dark mist as it twisted around him, drawing close enough to brush cold across his skin.

‘I can make you human.’ Ryou had to trust that promise. He forced himself to relax and let the magic wrap around him. The next thing he knew he was shedding scales. The water around him turned silver with them.

Ryou closed his eyes and forced himself to think of Honda. He would be with Honda soon. He would be on land, and no one would be able to take him away from Honda. Soon.

It wasn’t until the last of the scales protecting him were gone that a pain, like a bolt of fire, shot up Ryou’s tail, splitting it in two. There was a band of pain across his back as his gills sealed themselves closed. Ryou tried to scream, but water rushed into his mouth and lungs. For the first time in his life, the water around him burned and choked him. He couldn’t pass the water through his gills anymore. He couldn’t breathe.

“Ryou!”

The next thing Ryou knew there were arms around him, dragging him out of the cave and towards the light of the surface. Within moments he was being thrust up into the air.

Ryou coughed up water, choking as he gulped in air. He had nearly drowned, and now he was shaking all over with the realization. He really couldn’t go back now.

“Ryou? Are you all right? Ryou!”

“I’m fine.” Ryou needed to look ahead now. “Thank you.”

He couldn’t look Miho in the face. He knew why she had helped him in the first place, but. . . Honda. He wanted to see him again so badly. “I’m not sure I can swim right now,” he admitted, “So could you do me just one more favor?”

* * *

Ryou managed to use his arms to pull himself up onto the sand. He turned to Miho, who was floating in the water beside him. He was on the edge of the world he had always known, about to step out into completely alien territory.

He squeezed Miho’s shoulder in parting. “I’ll watch out for you, to make sure you can get back without being seen.”

Miho bit her lip, looking as if she wanted to say something, but she turned and dove back into the water without even saying goodbye. Ryou watched her go until the glare of the sun on the waves made it impossible for him to see her at all.

Ryou’s throat was starting to feel strangely sore, the way he always felt when he had talked to Honda too long and let himself dry out. But he was in a human body now. He should be able to use his voice, even in the air. He certainly couldn’t speak underwater. He couldn’t even breathe properly underwater as he had all his life.

Ryou wanted to move forward. He had to move out onto the land, to start a new life.

He pulled himself up using the rock he had always met Honda at. His new legs trembled under him, even with most of his weight supported by the rock, but he didn’t mind. He was upright, ready to use very own legs. Human legs. He was going to be able to walk on land, just like Honda.

The moment he tried to make his new legs support his full weight, pain shot up through his muscles. He fell with a breathless cry and lay trembling on the sand. There was a throbbing, burning pain along the insides of his legs where his tail had split during the transformation, warning him not to try standing again.

Ryou wasn’t sure if he was glad he had waited until Miho had gone before trying out his new legs. He didn’t know what to do now. He couldn’t go back to the ocean, and he couldn’t go forward to meet Honda. Ryou ran sand through his fingers, feeling helpless. How could he learn to walk on legs that didn’t even support his weight?

Ryou didn’t know how long he lay in the sand, feeling helpless. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes that he spent there alone before Honda found him.

Ryou raised his head to find someone running towards him across the sand. He shrunk back, trying to hide behind his rock without sliding into the water and drowning himself. A moment later he recognized Honda’s face. He hadn’t known Honda had kept coming to look for him, even after he had said he couldn’t see him again. He dared to hope that Honda would help him.

Honda knelt beside him, looking concerned. “Are you all right?”

Ryou pushed himself up until he could wrap his arms around Honda’s neck. He pressed his face into Honda’s shoulder for comfort. He had thrown himself into a completely unknown fate, but at least this one person was still familiar and safe.

If Honda was startled by Ryou’s actions he didn’t show it. He supported Ryou carefully in his arms and simply asked, “Who are you?”

“Ryou.” Ryou choked out, his voice unrecognizable with the strain. His throat hurt when he tried to speak. Breathing air for so long, he knew his voice had dried out.

“Ryou?” Honda gently lifted him back out of the water and pulled him across his lap. “Ryou. That’s a nice name. You’re not hurt, are you Ryou?”

Ryou shook his head miserably. Why was Honda speaking like he was trying to soothe a scared child or a skittish animal? He wanted Honda to recognize him, to hold him and praise him. He wanted Honda to notice he had legs now. Brand new legs. He should be taking time to touch them and tell Ryou that he was the prettiest human boy he had ever seen, to tell him that it was worth waiting so long to see him.

“Were you shipwrecked here? Where are you from?”

Ryou tried to cry out, to ask Honda how he could not recognize him, but all that came out was a strained gasp. His voice was gone, after he had told Honda to know him by his voice. Honda couldn’t know him. All he could do was gasp soundlessly like a fish out of water.

There was a fresh wetness on his face. Ryou touched his hand to his cheek, surprised. There was water running down his cheeks. In the ocean tears of pain would gather until they built up into the perfect roundness of a pearl. Now his tears flowed freely, but he couldn’t make a sound.

“Are you all right?” Honda’s concern only made it hurt more. Ryou shook his head, unable to answer. Honda lifted him gently into his arms, still trying to soothe him. “How can I help?”

Ryou mouthed dumbly at Honda, trying to tell him that he only needed to be close to him.

Honda didn’t understand. “Are you hurt?” He seemed to be checking Ryou all over for wounds.

Ryou shook his head. His legs still throbbed with pain from the transformation, but he didn’t think Honda could do anything about that.

“Are you lost?”

Ryou thought for a moment, studying Honda’s face. He knew where he was, but he had no idea where he was going. Everything waiting before him was a complete mystery. In that way, maybe he was lost. He nodded to the question, hoping Honda could be convinced to guide him.

“I’ll take you home. I’ll make sure you get home.”

That promise only made his situation seem worse. Ryou couldn’t go home again. Even if he could, Honda couldn’t take him there.

How could Honda ever recognize him without his voice? Ryou clung tight to his love, and despaired.


	4. Chapter 4

Honda didn’t know what he was doing, picking up some strange boy from the beach and taking him home on the spur of the moment. Ryou hadn’t said a word to him yet, besides his name, but it was obvious to Honda that something had happened to him. People didn’t just wash up naked on the beach every day, after all.

Ryou clung to Honda at first, but he quickly got used to being carried, and lifted his head from Honda’s chest enough to look around at the scenery. His eyes would widen in amazement at anything they passed, and he reached out, trying to touch the trunks of the closest trees as if he had never seen one before. Honda worried that he might have hit his head before he came ashore.

Still, that just made it plain that Ryou needed help. Honda carried him home, hanging onto him tightly, to keep him from falling as he climbed the path winding up from the beach. Ryou would turn from time to time and look up at Honda, smiling. He didn’t seem at all upset. Finally, he seemed to realize where Honda was taking him, and turned his gaze up toward the sprawling stone citadel that lay on top of the bluff.

“You’ll be safe here,” Honda told him as they reached it, “You can stay until I can get you home.”

Honda went through the courtyard as quickly as he could without breaking into a run, very aware of the people who stopped what they were doing to stare at him. He knew it would have been odd enough for him just to be carrying a stranger home. Now he had one who was both naked, and brazen enough to stare right back at them as if he had never seen normal people before. At least they waited until he got Ryou inside to begin buzzing with gossip.

He was going to need help, Honda realized. He looked around frantically, hoping for some friendly soul to appear, and was rewarded by almost running directly into Jounouchi, who had probably been on his way to try to convince him to get off of the beach and come up for dinner. Every night since he had lost his love, Jounouchi had practically had to drag him home.

“Get someone to draw a bath.” Honda nodded to Ryou, who was still sitting up in his arms, taking in his surroundings with an air of absolute wonder. “And I’ll need some fresh clothes.”

Jounouchi opened his mouth, probably to ask what the hell was going on, but the look on Honda’s face stopped him. It might be better if Ryou didn’t know Jounouchi was actually his friend and confidant. He wanted the boy to be able to talk to someone, and he didn’t think he had made the best first impression.

Jounouchi gave him a look that made it plain he would have to explain everything the minute Ryou was taken care of, but he played along. Honda followed him down the hall.

It turned out Jounouchi already had a hot bath waiting for him, he gestured Honda inside and left him alone with Ryou. Honda looked down at the boy in his arms, and suddenly realized he had no idea what to do with him.

“You can get yourself cleaned up. Jounouchi,” he gestured towards the door, where Jounouchi lurked, “is going to get you something for dinner when you’re done.”

Ryou clung to Honda’s shirt when he tried to leave, mouthing soundless nonsense words at him. Honda knew it was abrupt, just leaving Ryou here like this, but he didn’t know what else to do with him. He certainly couldn’t let him wander around as he was, and Ryou wasn’t even talking to him.

“We’ll figure something out,” Honda tried to tell him, “but right now you need to get cleaned up and rest, don’t you?”

Ryou let go of him, with obvious reluctance, and nodded slowly. Honda nodded back, squeezed Ryou’s hands, and left him.

Once he had checked to be sure Ryou wasn’t listening, he turned to Jounouchi. “How did you get this set up so fast?”

“It was your bath,” Jounouchi grumbled, but he wouldn’t be deterred from the important subject. “Who is he? Where did you dig him up?”

“I don’t know. I need you to help me figure that out.” Honda clasped Jounouchi’s shoulder, willing him to understand that he was asking this as a friend. He rarely asked anything of Jounouchi, but this was important. “See if you can get him to talk to you. He hasn’t given me any information. And. . . I don’t think he’s hurt anywhere, but you could watch for that too.”

Jounouchi crossed his arms and grumbled. “So you don’t know anything about him? You just drag him in here and you don’t even know his name?”

“It’s Ryou,” Honda said quickly. “I think it is, anyway.”

Jounouchi shrugged. He watched Honda for a long minute, and Honda suspected he was weighing the pros and cons of keeping Ryou around. Probably wondering if this would drive Honda even more crazy, or make him behave more like his normal self again.

Finally he gave in with a grudging, “You owe me for this,” and strode into the bathroom to deal with Ryou.

Honda only hoped that between the two of them they could figure out something about Ryou, and how to help him.

* * *

As soon as Jounouchi left him alone, Ryou got out of the soapy water and wrapped himself carefully with the towels. He wasn’t sure what Jounouchi had meant before by calling him ‘indecent’ for not coming with clothes, but it might have something to do with the cold. He certainly wasn’t comfortable with the air chilling his skin.

He couldn’t understand bathing at all. He was starting to wonder if humans had come from the sea in the first place. Perhaps they missed it, and this was some sort of ritual to that end.

If that was the case, he felt very sorry for them. Perhaps their legs pained them too, when they had to walk. He wished he could show them how to swim, but he wasn’t sure he could himself, with legs. Maybe he could learn again.

Ryou was quite alone in the cold, tiled room. He didn’t like that at all. He wished he could find Honda again. Suddenly he wanted to be able to see a familiar face.

Ryou pressed the door open cautiously and peeked out. There was no one waiting to pounce on him and reprimand him, at least. He slipped out into the hall to look for Honda.

After a few yards, tears began to prick at the corners of Ryou’s eyes. Every step felt like walking on knife points, driving them into the soles of his feet. The pain redoubled with each step, traveling all the way up the sensitive flesh of his legs. He had done his best to bear the pain in his legs and walk as a human, but his best still wasn’t good enough. He told himself it didn’t matter, there was no one to see him now.

Losing his concentration, Ryou stumbled against the wall. It wouldn’t hurt to rest for a moment, he hoped. He pulled himself along the wall a few more steps to an open window so he could sit on the sill. It felt strange being there. At home, he could have swam effortlessly through such an opening and off to wherever whim could take him. Here he was stuck where he was. Air didn’t work the same way as water. He could tell that he would only fall through it.

Ryou wondered at the window for a moment. If one could not enter or exit through it, what was the point? The view was an answer in itself. The wind blowing around him smelled and tasted of the ocean and the land both, and for a moment he reveled in it.

He forgot to watch for people, and so Jounouchi took him entirely by surprise, yanking him down from the sill and back into the hall without warning.

“What do you think you’re doing!? Trying to kill yourself?”

Ryou tried to answer, struggling with Jounouchi as he was dragged back the direction he had come. He couldn’t make a sound other than gasping.

After a few steps Ryou stumbled, walking was still too new to him to be able to keep up with Jounouchi. He fell, gasping in surprise when his knees hit the floor. That hurt too, a lot more than he would have expected.

Jounouchi turned to pull him up, and Ryou tried to get back to his feet before the human could notice that something was wrong with him. Too late. Jounouchi scooped him up and started to carry him down the hall.

Ryou was still in Jounouchi’s grip, not sure what would happen to him now that his weakness had been noticed. He knew Jounouchi was Honda’s friend, and wanted to trust him for that alone, but the fact remained that he didn’t know him at all.

Jounouchi carried him all the way back to the tiled room before setting him down. Ryou curled up where he was and watched Jounouchi warily.

“At least get some clothes on!”

Ryou watched Jounouchi storm around the bathroom. He didn’t understand the significance of clothing, or even cloth in general. It was something that would just get in the way underwater. He went through the pile of clothing that Jounouchi dropped beside him, but he had to stop and check each garment against what Jounouchi was wearing to figure out which limb matched up to which opening.

Jounouchi watched him struggle with his clothing for a few minutes before he lost his temper again.

“Aren’t you milking this way too much?” Jounouchi grabbed hold of Ryou and quickly got his clothing set to rights.

Ryou tugged uncomfortably at his clothes. They felt oddly encumbering. The closest experience to wearing cloth that he could think of was being tangled in a sinking sail. Considering that comparison, Ryou didn’t think he liked clothing.

“I’m going to take you somewhere quiet so you can eat.” Jounouchi hesitated, watching Ryou’s expression. Ryou couldn’t help wondering what it was he was looking for. “Honda wants to talk to you. You remember Honda?”

Ryou nodded eagerly. He wanted very much to see Honda again. If he could meet Honda for dinner, that seemed well worth both the clothing and trying out his shaky legs again.

Jounouchi had to support him part of the way, but still Ryou was proud to make it down the hall on his own legs. He hoped that walking could get less painful with practice. He was starting to think he just hurt from the transformation, and from using his muscles in a way that he had never used them in his life.

“This is going to be your room for as long as you stay with us,” Jounouchi informed him.

Ryou could hardly believe it. He could stay? Honda must have finally realized who he was. Why would he be letting a complete stranger into his home to stay? He only wished Honda could be here to tell him the happy news himself.

“Honda will be here soon.” Jounouchi was giving him that strange measuring look again, and Ryou wasn’t sure he liked it. “You can handle dinner on your own, can’t you?”

Ryou nodded, a little sadly. Even if he didn’t like Jounouchi staring him down, he didn’t want to be alone. If only Honda would come. Just his familiar face would be such a comfort.

Jounouchi left, and Ryou silently approached the table set for one. He collapsed in the chair before his legs could give out. It was clever of humans, he decided, to make something specifically to rest on, even if the chair wasn’t particularly comfortable and tried to force his back up straight. At home he could have floated between ceiling and floor quite effortlessly, but he felt heavier here.

Ryou slowly lost interest in the chair as he stared without appetite at the unfamiliar food. At any other time in his life, he would have been delighted to be presented with something so new and unknown. He scooped up a bit of gravy with his finger and licked at it. It was delicious, rich, and unlike anything he had ever tasted. He wanted to enjoy trying each new dish set out before him, but all he could think of was how badly he needed something familiar.

Still, Ryou was hungry enough to force down his homesickness and try the food. He wasn’t familiar with any of the utensils, though he recognized the weapons they resembled. The knife still seemed that it should be for stabbing, not for cutting, but the meat was tougher than any he had eaten before, and he found he needed to use the edge. (Certainly no fish ever required being sawed at like that. Ryou couldn’t even guess what the chewy thing he was eating really was.)

The small trident-like instrument was impractical for scooping up food, so Ryou decided that its purpose must be to maneuver each piece of food onto the spoon, the proper scoop, to be lifted. It seemed strange to go through such a process simply to eat. Still, Ryou was sure that the instruments had been set out to be used in some way, so he persevered in experimenting with them.

When he found a starchy dish that had been flavored with seaweed, he gave up on exploration. It reminded him too much of the flat, round cakes of seaweed that were a staple food at home. He devoured it, letting the familiarity of the taste comfort him while it lasted, and stared helplessly at his plate once it was gone.

What was he even doing here? Ryou pushed himself out of the chair and lay curled up on the thick rug that covered a large portion of the floor, too tired to sit straight any longer. He felt so heavy here on land. He hadn’t given much thought to floors before. They were simply there, and one floated above them. Now he had an intimate relationship with the floor. It supported him, as the air could not support him. It was solid in a way that Ryou had never in all his life appreciated.

He missed his brother so much. More than anything else, he missed Bakura. How could he have been so selfish as to leave his closest brother all alone? Ryou couldn’t remember being away from Bakura for even a whole day before. He didn’t want to think about it. Bakura would be so angry with him.

Ryou pressed his cheek into the rug. It was so soft and comfortable that he thought he might never move again, and let his eyes wander about the strange room until his gaze fell on the fire. He hadn’t noticed it from the place he had been sitting before, but now that he had he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

The way it moved was so beautiful, almost like a sea anemone transmuted into liquid, or even into air. He couldn’t decide which. The flicker and glow took his problems away for a moment. There was even a warmth radiating from it. It was even warmer than Honda, which fascinated him. Was everything here so warm? Everything but the air itself? Maybe it was because everything was closer to the sun.

Ryou crawled closer to the fire. The warm air was so nice on his face, and it soothed the ache in his legs. It made him hope that it really was only soreness and inexperience that kept him from walking the way he should. Maybe he only needed more practice.

Ryou reached out cautiously toward the fire. His only worry was that he might spoil it in some way if he touched it, but he couldn’t resist.

His hand met the flickering flames, Ryou instantly wished he hadn’t touched them. He snatched his hand back with a silent cry of pain. He stared at the fire, clutching his burned hand. It didn’t seem fair for something so beautiful to hurt so much. He was pretty sure the fire wasn’t even alive, but he felt like he had been attacked.

Ryou jerked at the sound of the door slamming. He whirled to face it, afraid that some new danger had crept up on him.

It was only Honda. Ryou relaxed almost at once. Honda was familiar and safe, and he didn’t think he had ever been so glad to see someone in his life.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Ryou shook his head in protest. He hadn’t done anything wrong. At least, there was nothing he could think of that would make Honda angry. He wouldn’t want to make Honda upset in any way.

Honda strode over to where Ryou was sitting on the carpet, gabbed hold of his hands, and pulled him close. Ryou was nervous at the pained expression on Honda’s face, but all Honda did was delicately inspect his burned fingers.

“Didn’t this hurt?”

Ryou nodded, letting Honda cradle his injured hand. Honda pulled down the pitcher of water from the table and pushed Ryou’s hand into the cool water to soothe the burn.

“You could have at least said something.”

Ryou kept his head down so Honda couldn’t see his expression. He wanted more than anything to be able to speak again, but he couldn’t expect Honda to know that. As far as Honda knew now he might have never had a voice to lose. He wanted Honda to know him, and there were so many things he wanted to tell him. He wouldn’t mind being able to cry out when he was hurt, either.

Honda stood and went back to the door. Ryou clenched his unhurt hand in frustration. This was not the reunion he had expected. Honda must still not know who he was.

“Can you bring some burn ointment?” he heard Honda instruct someone outside of the room. He paused for a second, listening to a voice too low for Ryou to catch, then answered softly, “Yes, please.”

Ryou looked up cautiously when Honda came back to him. He expected the worst, as he had since he discovered he couldn’t walk. Now he couldn’t decide if it would be worse for Honda to hurt him or to leave him, and tried futilely to brace himself for both.

“You really can’t, can you?” Honda knelt beside Ryou and reached out to him, placing his hands gently on Ryou’s shoulders. “You can’t speak.”

Ryou shook his head. He opened his mouth, to tell Honda that he would if he could, but he closed it again quickly. He felt foolish for trying again and again to speak with his numb voice, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to be able to answer.

“But you told me your name.” Honda pulled him a little closer. “Or was it even your name? Is Ryou someone you’re looking for? Is it a word? Or . . .”

Ryou touched his fingers to the center of his chest and mouthed ‘Ryou.’ Honda could at least call him by his name.

“It is your name, then.” Honda touched Ryou’s hand lightly. “But who are you?”

Jounouchi interrupted then, carrying a fat little pot of dark glass and a few bandages. Honda looked up quickly, but only nodded to him to acknowledge his presence before drawing Ryou’s hand out of the water and starting to doctor the burns.

Ryou was still, though his heart beat a little faster to have his hand cradled in Honda’s as the burns on his fingers were dealt with. Honda delicately touched ointment from the pot onto the pad of each of his fingers. The touch stung terribly for a few seconds before making the Ryou’s nerves go numb. Honda had to hold his hand still as Ryou instinctively tried to twitch away from the little pains, and he smiled comfortingly, as if he knew exactly what Ryou felt.

“Don’t you know better than to put your hand in the fire?”

Ryou bit the inside of his mouth and hung his head miserably, fighting to stay still so that Honda could heal him. He knew better now, of course, but he had never seen one before. He hadn’t meant to hurt himself and to upset Honda by touching it.

“It’s fine. You’ll heal.” Honda wrapped each of Ryou’s fingers with a bit of the bandage. He glanced up at Ryou and smiled. “It is starting to feel better?”

Ryou nodded, and was rewarded with a relieved smile from Honda before he went back to focusing on the abused fingers.

Ryou watched Honda tend to his hand, trying to get himself to think straight. Even after Honda was done caring for the burns, he continued to hold it, staring down at Ryou’s hand as if he could find some answer he needed there.

Ryou leaned forward a little to look up into Honda’s face. He knew Honda was a good person, but he hadn’t expected to be treated so gently now that he was a stranger all over again. For each little drop of kindness he was shown, he couldn’t help hoping that Honda was a step closer to working out who he really was.

Homesick or not, Ryou realized that he really wanted Honda to hurry up and figure everything out so he could kiss him. He wanted to stay at Honda’s side. There was so much about him he wanted to learn. He wanted to see every facet of his personality, and hold them all to himself alone.

Honda shifted away from Ryou’s scrutiny. Ryou tried to move closer. He wanted Honda to feel comfortable with him, not shy away from him.

“Let’s go outside.” Honda stood stiffly, distancing himself from Ryou’s insistent pursual. “Get some fresh air.”

Ryou managed to push himself to his feet, legs shaking as if they would dump him back on the floor any moment.

Honda offered his arm, and Ryou seized the support at once. He was quick enough to earn a startled look from Honda, but he didn’t mind. He leaned against Honda, just enough to keep his legs from shaking.

After watching Ryou cling to his arm for a moment, Honda shifted to wrap his arm around Ryou instead so he could support him more firmly.

Ryou snuggled against Honda’s side, ignoring the puzzled look Honda gave him. He was happy just to stay close to Honda, and he followed as Honda stepped toward the wall without caring where Honda was going.

He wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings at all until Honda lifted the heavy curtains hanging over half of the wall and led Ryou toward the opening he revealed. Ryou saw sky through the opening, now dark and studded with the first few stars of the night. He hesitated, tugging on Honda’s arm. He at least knew that he couldn’t step out the window here.

Honda turned to see why Ryou was dragging his heels, just as he stepped out of the room, out into open air, Ryou thought. Ryou dragged hard on Honda’s arm, pulling him back, and nearly overbalancing him as he struggled to get Honda back into the room.

“What’s wrong with you?” Honda pulled Ryou up so that he was level with him, looking out into the open sky. “It’s a balcony.”

Honda gestured down, and now that he could see around Honda, Ryou realized that instead of a sudden drop, there were a few steps down, then a round stone platform protruding from the wall, ringed with an intricate railing.

Ryou reluctantly allowed Honda to lead him forward onto the balcony. It held under them, but he continued to cling tight to Honda’s arm until he caught the look on Honda’s face and realized that Honda was trying not to laugh at him.

Ryou moved to clutch the railing instead, feeling slightly hurt.

“Thank you.” Honda touched Ryou’s hand lightly as he moved to stand beside him. Ryou spared a quick peek at his love’s face before turning back to scan the view. From where they were standing, he could see the beach where he had first left Honda, with the rocks he had once hidden behind to speak with Honda just visible on one side.

Honda stayed silent for a moment, letting Ryou look around before he spoke to him again.

“Can you at least give me some idea where you came from?”

Ryou eased himself a little closer to Honda as he pointed down to the beach.

“Before that.”

Ryou thought for a moment before deciding to give Honda the truth. He shifted to point out into the ocean.

Honda shook his head, apparently not understanding. “You don’t remember?”

Ryou let his arm drop. He remembered perfectly well. He just didn’t have the words to tell Honda. He wasn’t sure how to show Honda with body language that he had come from under the waves, not from a ship, as Honda seemed to think.

“Do you remember how you got here?”

Ryou nodded slowly, pointing down to the ocean again.

Honda sighed in frustration. “Are you lost? Hurt? Are you stranded here?”

Ryou shook his head emphatically to each question, carefully ignoring the fact that he was technically stranded on land, because it had been his choice.

Honda studied his face a moment, then said, “Didn’t you have me believe you were lost before?”

Ryou thought for a moment, then nodded. He had been lost then, in a way. He had no idea where he was going then. It seemed that he had found his way safely into Honda’s home, and so he didn’t see the need to travel further into the unknown just now.

“Have you figured out where you are? Do you know where your home is from here?”

Ryou touched his fingertips to Honda’s chest and mouthed, “With you,” since that was where he was. Honda didn’t seem to understand.

“Where is your home, then?”

Ryou pointed out again into the ocean.

“The other side of the ocean?” Honda looked out, following the path of Ryou’s finger with his eyes, as if he might see something out in the waves that would give him a clue as to Ryou’s origin.

Ryou shook his head. He was from under the waves, not from the other side.

“Did you come here by ship?”

Ryou shook his head again. He had never sailed on a ship. He tried to show Honda, making signs of choppy waves with one hand and trying to show a figure swimming beneath them with the other. Honda only stared at his gestures, uncomprehending.

“Are you a long way from home?”

Ryou wasn’t a long distance from home, only about an hour’s swim, yet he was very, very far from ever being able to get back beneath the waves. He shook his head, then nodded, then started to shake his head again, not knowing how to express the correct answer.

Honda held up a hand to still Ryou’s motions. “Are you lost after all?”

Ryou didn’t even try to answer. There was more to that answer than a simple yes or no. Yes, he knew where he was, but his original home was now lost to him.

“At least give me some clue.”

Ryou shifted closer and lay his whole hand on Honda’s chest. ‘Looking for you,’ he mouthed silently.

“Why do you keep doing that?” Honda jerked back from Ryou’s hand. “Do you know me or something?”

Ryou nodded, reaching out again, though his fingers stopped short of touching Honda.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met you.” Honda moved back to the railing, shaking his head. “I mean, maybe. I mean no. No. I’ve only ever seen one person like you and he. . .”

Ryou was sure Honda had stopped short to keep from mentioning his voice. He shook his head, wishing he could tell Honda it was okay. Honda had only seen him for a moment, but he had seen him. Even if Honda couldn’t recognize his voice, there had to be a chance.

Finally Honda moved close to him again, close enough for Ryou’s fingers to brush against his shoulder. Ryou tilted his head to look up at Honda hopefully.

“I think you’ve mistaken me for someone.”

Ryou caught Honda’s face between his hands and shook his head desperately at him. ‘Honda,’ he mouthed. Honda was Honda, and he was the only person Ryou was looking for.

Honda caught Ryou’s hands in his own and drew them away from his face. “But how can you know me?”

Ryou tried to point down to the beach, to show Honda that he was the one he had spoken with before, but Honda was still holding his hands captive.

“There really is no point in interrogating you, is there?” Honda slipped his arms around Ryou for a moment, but he was only lifting him, not pulling him into a real embrace.

Honda carried him carefully to his bed and laid him down on it. “Do you know your way home from here? If you can just point out the way, or if you could show me on a map, I can take you there.”

Ryou considered the question carefully. True, he knew what direction home lay in, which seemed to be what Honda was asking, but he didn’t know how he or Honda could actually get there.

He shook his head.

“I’m sure someone there is very worried about you,” Honda spoke to him so softly, he was back to sounding as if he was trying to calm a frightened child, “Are you sure you don’t know?”

Ryou thought of Bakura. He thought of his father and his older brothers, who must be searching for him even now if they had not already discovered his trick. He thought of Honda wanting to get him off of his hands as soon as possible, to take him home. A tear slipped down his face as he shook his head again. He just didn’t know what to do.

“I’ll still find a way to help you.” Honda looked so earnest as he brushed Ryou’s tear away. “I promise.”

Honda pulled the blankets up around Ryou, making him lay flat on the bed. “Sleep now.”

Ryou didn’t want to sleep. He wanted to cling to Honda and tell him not to leave, but he couldn’t. He clutched the blankets and gasped nonsense with his useless voice instead.

Honda stayed beside him until he wore himself out and lost himself to sleep. He almost missed the feeling of Honda stroking his hair to calm him as he dozed off. He dared to hope that he still had a chance with Honda, because hope was all he really had at the moment. Even if Honda couldn’t recognize him now, didn’t he still have the chance to make Honda fall in love with him all over again?

Ryou had just barely started to doze off when he felt Honda let go of him. He reached sleepily for Honda’s hand, but only found a handful of blankets.

“You shouldn’t just barge in,” Honda was saying. Ryou wondered who he was talking to, but he was too sleepy to open his eyes and look.

“Just checking up on you.” It was Jounouchi’s voice. Ryou decided he didn’t mind in that case, though he was sure he could feel both of them watching him. “Has he told you anything yet?”

Honda touched Ryou’s hair lightly. “I don’t think he can.”

“Then how did you find out his name?” Jounouchi demanded. Honda was silent, though Ryou felt his fingers tangle themselves in his hair. After a pause Jounouchi pushed on, “Look, I know you’re trying to be the good guy, but I don’t trust-”

“Not here,” Honda growled. He let go of Ryou’s hair and a second later Ryou felt his weight leave the bed. “Outside.”

Ryou opened his eyes slowly once they were gone. What had he done wrong? If they suspected what he really was, what would happen to him? He wanted to follow them, but he knew being caught spying on them could only make his situation worse. Ryou curled in on himself, trying to be still and sleep, but he couldn’t help being afraid. What would Honda think of him?

* * *

“What did you find out?” Honda leaned against a low wall overlooking the sea. He knew he spent too much time staring out into the ocean these days, but he couldn’t help it. He needed to get one more glimpse of that boy. It hurt that he didn’t even know his name.

“Not much.” Jounouchi sat on the wall beside him, keeping his back to the ocean. “He can barely walk on his own. He can’t even dress himself. There is something wrong with this kid.”

Honda sighed. “I know that. What I need to know is what happened to him.”

“You sure he can’t talk?”

“I’m sure.” Honda didn’t like the way Jounouchi distrusted Ryou, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. “He put his hand in the fire, and he couldn’t even cry out. I mean,” Honda clenched one hand on the wall in frustration as he spoke, “It’s not just that he should know better than to do that. I could see he was trying to make a noise, but nothing came out.”

“So he can act.” Jounouchi looked a little uncomfortable as he argued. “He spoke to you before.”

“But his voice sounded strained even then. He had trouble with just that one word.”

Jounouchi grumbled, “You didn’t have to let him follow you home like some stray.”

“He’s hurt.” Honda had to force his hands to relax, trying to look calm. “He can’t walk or talk, how could I abandon him?”

“You couldn’t,” Jounouchi admitted, “I’d’ve thought you really had lost your mind if you did, anyway.”

They stayed together in companionable silence after that. If Ryou was a danger or not, they would have to discover that later, and they were both sure they could handle it when the time came.

Honda was glad he didn’t have to reveal his other reason for bringing Ryou home. He looked so familiar. His face was a good match for those few brief glimpses Honda had gotten at the one he loved. Ryou could have been him, or at least his brother. He knew it was selfish to keep Ryou near him for that alone, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to care. He needed to care for Ryou, and maybe there was a chance he could help atone for chasing his love away by doing that.

He still didn’t know the boy’s name. Honda wished he could have at least found out, but he hadn’t been able to meet him since that day when he had accidentally looked at his face. He almost hoped Ryou was the one he loved, the one he was searching for, but that was impossible.

Ryou had seemed to know him, and Honda had found him in the spot where he always met his love, but he wasn’t sure that was enough to go on. He had been sure that his love was one of the merpeople, yet Ryou was human. If he was wrong about that there was still the fact that Ryou had lost his voice completely, when he had been told to recognize his love by his voice alone.

Besides, hadn’t he said he could never come back now? And he hadn’t been back. All because of Honda’s mistake.

Honda decided it was probably just his own wishful thinking. He wanted to believe his love had returned to him. That was why he was seeing similarities in Ryou.

That was all there was to it. Honda would not force his feelings for someone else on Ryou, just because he had a similar face. Ryou was just unlucky and far from home, and he needed Honda’s help. Honda wouldn’t let his feelings interfere with giving Ryou the help he needed.

* * *

Ryou couldn’t sleep after what he had heard Jounouchi say. They didn’t trust him. Right now they were probably discussing what he was really up to, and he couldn’t say a word to defend himself.

Ryou couldn’t stay still any longer. He already didn’t like the feeling of being weighted down by the blankets, and he couldn’t stand being trapped with his thoughts. Pulling himself out of bed, he managed to make his way across his room to the wall. He hung on the curtains for a moment to rest before pulling himself out onto the balcony.

The stone was cold under his bare feet, and the sharp breeze did not seem at all hindered by the clothing he had been given. Ryou shivered, kneeling on the stone and pressing his cheek against the railing. The chill woke him and snapped his thoughts into sharp focus. Bakura might have been right. What did he really have in common with Honda? What could he offer if Honda didn’t even trust him?

Ryou stared out into the ocean, trying to figure out a way to communicate with Honda. If only he could make Honda realize who he really was. There had to be something that Honda would recognize, other than his voice. If he just knew what Honda had seen in him before, he could make sure he made the connection.

Ryou was so absorbed in his thoughts that it took him several minutes to realize that the beach was not deserted. He could see someone moving in the water, someone with white hair that stood out all too well in the moonlight.

It had to be Bakura. Ryou clenched his hands in the railing, hoping Honda had never seen him approaching the beach from here. If he had. . . maybe that was why he didn’t trust Ryou. Maybe he knew all too well who he was.

And now Bakura was in danger of being caught too. He must have known where to come to look for Ryou. If he was going to lurk around the beach all night, Ryou would have to go to meet him. At least he knew Bakura would still recognize him.

Getting out to the beach presented a problem. Ryou didn’t know his way around inside well enough to think he could find his way out again.

There had to be another way. Ryou leaned over the railing, trying to see if there really was no way down from where he was standing. Part of him still thought windows were superfluous if it was impossible to exit through them.

There was something carved into the wall beside the balcony, leaving a regular pattern in the stones. He considered the marks for a moment, wondering if it would be possible to pull himself down on those.

He really didn’t have time to waste, Ryou decided, pulling himself along the railing towards the wall. He couldn’t let Bakura get himself in trouble by being seen.

The carvings in the wall turned out to be a rough ladder. Ryou managed to swing himself out and clung to the side of the wall, half afraid he would just fall and break his neck for his trouble.

But the carvings were deep enough to make proper handholds, almost as if they were meant to be used that way. Ryou quickly realized that letting himself down the wall with his arms alone was far easier than walking. At least here he could let his legs dangle uselessly, and not have to worry about making them support his weight. His arms at least were still strong from a life of swimming, even if the strength from his tail didn’t seem to have transferred over to his new legs.

As soon as his feet touched the stone walkway that ran beneath his window Ryou let go of the wall, only to have his legs buckle and send him sprawling on the ground again. There was one nice thing about the cold stone floors, he realized. His feet were already so numb they barely hurt when he tried to stand.

Ryou made the journey down to the ocean in short bursts, sitting down as soon as his legs started to shake, then getting back to his feet as soon as he thought he could handle more. He would have liked to move more slowly, but he knew he needed to get to Bakura before someone else noticed he was there. He might already be too late, it had taken him so long just to get out of his room.

Bakura swam up to him as soon as he managed to get down onto the sand. He scrambled out into the water as fast as his legs could carry him, worried that his brother was going to beach himself trying to get too close.

“You idiot!” Bakura threw his arms around Ryou as soon as he was within range, nearly dragging him underwater. Ryou gasped and stumbled and had to hang on to Bakura for a minute, but he found it was easier to stay on his feet while in the water. It supported him somewhat. He hoped Bakura wouldn’t try to drag him home and drown him, even trusting that his brother wouldn’t knowingly harm him. Bakura could be a bit hasty when upset, and Ryou was sure he had to be upset now.

“Ryou!” Ryou looked up to find Miho clinging to his brother’s shoulder, staring at him. “Are you. . . ?”

Ryou started to tell her he was fine, before remembering he still couldn’t speak. He tried to smile as if nothing was wrong, but they had already noticed.

“What happened?” Bakura seized Ryou by the shoulders. “What happened to your voice? And here!” he had just noticed the bandages around Ryou’s hand, which were now soaked, “Did he do this?”

Ryou shook his head, pressing his injured hand to his chest. The salt water was making his burn sting painfully again.

“Did you lose your voice?” Miho whispered over Bakura’s shoulder. “Can’t you say anything?”

Ryou nodded at her, feeling uneasy. She sounded as though she had expected this to happen.

“I think I can fix that. . .” Miho started guiltily. Bakura turned on her as if just remembering she was there.

“Don’t encourage him! It’s bad enough that you sent him up there to be attacked.”

Miho twisted away from Bakura’s glare. “I just thought if he got to meet this human girl. . .”

“Girl?” Bakura looked back to Ryou, as if questioning his judgement. “I think I can at least tell a female human from a male.”

“But, I thought-” Miho looked to Ryou, apparently forgetting he couldn’t answer.

“That was a man,” Bakura muttered angrily, “I know it.” Ryou nodded in shy agreement.

“That one?”

They both turned to look up the beach. Ryou was shocked to see Jounouchi striding across the beach towards them. Had he been followed? Surely Jounouchi would have shown himself sooner if he had followed directly behind him.

“No. Ryou’s is taller. And uglier.”

Ryou shoved at Bakura in annoyance, but Bakura didn’t even seem to notice. Instead he turned to Miho and pushed her back under the waves. “Get going,” he hissed.

Ryou tried to walk out of the water to meet Jounouchi. He didn’t expect anything but to pushed back again as soon as he managed to get out of the water. Instead Jounouchi was there to catch him when he stumbled.

“Are you alright?” Jounouchi wasn’t even looking at Ryou as he spoke. Instead he was staring out at Bakura, transfixed.

Ryou tried to nod. Could he even trust Jounouchi any more? Did he dare stay near any of these humans, now that they were sure to know what he was?

“This. . .” Jounouchi finally looked from Bakura, who was still glaring at him, to Ryou. “This explains a lot,” he said.

* * *

Jounouchi escorted Ryou back to his room in silence. He seemed to be in a state of shock. He wouldn’t say a thing, even when Ryou tried tugging on his shirt to get his attention. At least he had made no move to hurt Ryou. And the fact that he had not simply left him back on the beach to fend for himself gave Ryou a slim ray of hope.

“But you’re human.” Was the first thing Jounouchi said. He was helping Ryou into dry clothes. Ryou looked down nervously, but Jounouchi would not meet his eyes anyway, so it didn’t really matter.

Ryou shook his head, though he knew Jounouchi wouldn’t see the gesture.

“I’ve seen your kind before.” He ran one hand through his hair with an irritated noise. “I guess I mean your people? They were singing. Some words that didn’t make any sense. I almost thought it was a dream until now.”

Jounouchi looked at Ryou helplessly. “Do you even understand our language?”

Ryou smiled and nodded reassuringly. At least Jounouchi seemed to be coming to terms with things, without any sign he meant to harm Ryou. Though for all he knew Jounouchi had decided it would be safer to deal with him while he slept. That thought made Ryou’s heart go cold.

“It’s strange.” Jounouchi was studying him carefully. “I should tell Honda.”

Ryou grabbed Jounouchi’s arm and shook his head.

“He’s the one person who would understand. I mean, he believes in things like this.”

Ryou paused at that. What exactly did Jounouchi mean by that? Why would it be strange that Honda believed that merpeople existed? They had always been there. Maybe it was because they had hidden themselves so well from humans. Maybe he believed that one could end up coming to visit him? Maybe he already suspected that Ryou had come from the ocean?

“You don’t want me to tell him?” Jounouchi crossed his arms angrily. “Then tell me how you know him. Why have you been following him around?”

Ryou tried to explain, though he knew by now it wouldn’t work. Jounouchi watched him, looking more frustrated with each gesture Ryou tried.

“Look, I can’t hear you. That or I can’t understand you. What are you trying to-”

He trailed off, watching Ryou as he put his hands to his chest, trying to signal that he would talk to Honda. He had to make Honda see who he was, and Jounouchi telling him what he had found out wouldn’t help matters. That wasn’t the side of him that Honda needed to see to recognize him.

“You want to tell him yourself?”

Ryou nodded, sitting forward on the edge of the bed until he almost slipped off.

“You want to tell him, and you can’t even talk.” Jounouchi muttered, running one hand through his hair again in frustration. He studied Ryou for a long, tense moment before speaking again.

“Fine. Tell him yourself.” He stood up, then paused, watching Ryou. “You realize I’m only doing this because I know he could take you if you tried anything.”

Ryou nodded slowly. He tried to tell himself that Jounouchi was just trying to protect his friend, but it still stung. Jounouchi didn’t trust him any more than Bakura trusted humans. Now that he thought about it, he was probably the same way, expecting them to attack him sooner or later. No matter how much he wanted to trust Honda, fears that he had learned from childhood kept transferring to each new human that he met.

“Get some sleep,” Jounouchi said, a little more gently. He waited for Ryou to fall back on the bed, far too tired to fight, before turning to leave the room.

Three days, Ryou thought. Three days and two nights. Maybe Miho could fix his voice before it was too late. Then he could explain everything to Honda, and Honda would know him, and he could stay.

Only now he had to wonder, did he really want to stay? He did want to be at Honda’s side, to stay with him always, but at the same time he would be leaving behind everything he had ever known. Could he stand to never see his family again? To never see Bakura again? A few hours ago it had seemed all too easy to throw that all aside for Honda. Now he wasn’t so sure.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was once meant to be two chapters, but it dragged on without really getting anywhere until I trimmed it down. I hope the parts I was inspired with are interesting to everyone else!
> 
> Okay, short on notes this time. I'll see you in the next chapter.

Honda’s first instinct was to take Ryou to the nearest port town in hopes that he would recognize it, or, better yet, someone there might recognize him. To his surprise, Jounouchi had shot down the idea at once, telling him he needed to focus on Ryou and trying to talk to him. Ryou would answer all of their questions much faster than they could ever work out on their own if they could just figure out how to understand him.

Maybe he had a point. If there was one thing Honda had realized about his mute guest it was that Ryou wanted desperately to tell him something. When Honda had tried to question him, his ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers seemed to contradict each other, until he had struggled to communicate further, using signs and mouthing words that Honda could not understand. There was something he wanted to say that Honda knew went beyond the simple questions he had tried so far.

Also, Honda suspected that Ryou’s muteness was recent, and possibly unexpected. Not only because he had heard Ryou speak that one word to him, but because Ryou kept trying to speak to him, then stopping short as if realizing once again that he could not. Ryou wanted to speak to him, but his voice had somehow been stolen.

Honda’s first idea was to try to lip-read. He simply had to encourage Ryou’s silent speech, and try to understand the words.

Honda meant to start right away, but he once he was standing over Ryou, he found it hard to wake him. Ryou looked so peaceful that he couldn’t help watching his face and wondering what had happened to him. Even though he knew Ryou had been through a lot, he kept smiling so easily for Honda.

Even if letting Ryou sleep meant putting off his experiment and missing that soft smile, Honda didn’t miss seeing the way Ryou’s expression closed off in pain whenever he tried to walk.

Ryou moved his lips in a silent complaint and rolled over, curling away from the sunlight that had started to creep across his face. He threw one arm across his eyes, and Honda wanted to laugh at the way he tried to hide from the morning sun.

Honda reached over Ryou and gently lifted the arm that covered his eyes, feeling just a bit guilty when Ryou scrunched up his face unhappily and tried to turn away.

“Ryou,” he called, “time to wake up.”

Ryou squinted up at him, and Honda couldn’t help chuckling at the sleepy smile on Ryou’s face. He wasn’t sure why Ryou kept sleeping so late when he knew he had put him to bed early the night before, but he didn’t really mind having to wake Ryou up personally.

“Sleep well?” Honda asked as he released Ryou.

Ryou nodded, his lips moving in a silent greeting. He seemed startled for a moment, then his face fell as if he had only just then realized that his mute state had not been lifted during the night. Honda wanted to smile in spite of Ryou’s unhappiness, because he thought he understood Ryou’s silent greeting.

“Good morning to you too,” Honda murmured, guiding Ryou into a sitting position. “I brought you breakfast.”

Ryou reached up to put his arms around Honda’s neck as if asking to be lifted out of bed. Honda was a little disappointed that Ryou hadn’t seemed to notice that he had understood his greeting, but he lifted Ryou out of bed and carried him to the table anyway.

Ryou didn’t seem to want to let go once Honda had set him down in his seat. Honda finally had to remove Ryou’s arms himself. When Ryou slumped back in defeat, Honda fetched a second chair and moved it so they could sit close together.

“Have you tried this before?” Honda uncovered a plate of delicate, white fish. Ryou reached out to pick it up and taste it, but Honda caught his hand.

“Like this.” Honda picked up a small fork and speared a morsel of fish with it before curling Ryou’s fingers around it. He nodded encouragingly for Ryou to eat.

Ryou seemed a reluctant to put the fork itself in his mouth for some reason, but he gladly nibbled at the fish around the tines. Honda was waiting to see Ryou’s eyes widen in surprised pleasure and was sorely disappointed that Ryou didn’t seem to find anything special about the fish, even after he had been staring at everything in open wonder the day before.

“Have you tried it before?” Honda asked dubiously. As far as he knew, the fish he had just given Ryou lived only in the nearby reefs, and it was almost never exported. It was a local delicacy.

Ryou nodded, not seeming to have any idea that Honda was trying to offer him a rare treat.

“You’ve been here before, haven’t you?” Honda was sure there was no other way Ryou could have tasted this particular fish fresh before.

Ryou didn’t answer, and Honda shook his head in frustration. He suspected this was yet another one of those questions that went beyond yes and no. “Near here, then?”

Ryou nodded after a second of watching Honda almost warily.

“Do you remember where?”

After an even longer pause. Ryou nodded again.

“Do you know your way home from there?”

Another nod. Honda gripped Ryou’s hands. He wanted to demand why Ryou hadn’t tried to tell him that he knew his way home before, but he quashed the urge to shout. It was possible that he had and Honda simply hadn’t understood him.

“Take me there, then. Show me the way to deliver you home.”

Ryou curled back into himself, shaking his head.

“Why won’t you!?” Honda had to reign in his temper as Ryou flinched at his yell. “Why won’t you let me help you?” he asked more gently this time.

Ryou looked so lost. Honda leaned in a little closer and tilted Ryou’s face so that he could see his mouth. “Say it slowly so I can understand,” he encouraged.

Ryou swallowed hard, then slowly his mouth formed words. ‘I can,’ Honda thought he saw.

“Then why won’t you?”

Ryou looked puzzled for a moment, then, very slowly, mouthed out ‘I can not.’ Honda realized that he must have meant to say ‘I can’t’ before.

“You can’t let me help you?” Honda gripped Ryou’s hand harder until he saw the mute youth wince. Guiltily, he relaxed his grip and let Ryou go. “I want to be able to help you.”

Ryou shook his head violently, and Honda sighed and rubbed his fingertips over Ryou’s wrists. This wasn’t working as well as he’d thought it would. He could only understand a few simple words at a time, and even then it seemed he still had to ask the right questions.

“Ryou,” Honda searched for the words he needed. There had a to be a reason Ryou was refusing his help now when he had accepted it so willingly before. “What can’t you do? What is it that I can’t help you with?”

Ryou’s lips moved, but Honda couldn’t understand.

“You can’t come? You can’t come with me?”

Ryou shook his head.

“What then?” Honda realized he wasn’t sure if Ryou meant that he hadn’t said ‘come,’ or he was reenforcing that Honda could not, in fact, come home with him. “Or where?”

One word, so slowly that Honda caught himself mimicking the motions. ‘Home.’

“Why do you think I can’t bring you home?”

Ryou’s eyes spoke more eloquently then his mouth at that moment. Honda felt as if he was being drawn in, for a moment he wanted to hold Ryou and swear to him that he would not be lonely again, because he looked so hopelessly lost.

“Are you saying you can’t go home?”

Ryou nodded slowly, watching Honda’s face for a reaction.

“Why?”

Ryou shook his head, making gestures with his hands that Honda couldn’t quite recognize, though he could guess about what Ryou meant.

“You think it’s too complicated to explain like this?” He sighed, and had to admit that it probably would take a long time when he could only understand a few words at a time. “You’re probably right.”

Even when he could pick out a few words, he couldn’t seem to get their meaning correct without the proper context. This experiment to communicate with Ryou wasn’t getting him very far. It was time to try something new.

“Hold on. I have another idea.” Without waiting to see if Ryou protested, Honda hurried off to get a few supplies.  


* * *

“Have you ever written before?” Honda had asked as he set the odd materials in front of Ryou. There were a pair of rectangular slates, each filled with some spongy gel that Ryou didn’t recognize and attached along one side with a hinge. When he pressed one finger into the material a faint indentation remained, along with a sharp crescent imprinted by his nail.

Ryou looked up at Honda questioningly, and Honda pressed a small wand into his hand. It was sharp at one end, with a flat fin-like ornament at the other.

When he didn’t make any move to use the unfamiliar items, Honda took his hand, wrapped his fingers gently around the ‘wand’ and made him press the sharp end into the spongy surface.

“Have you ever used a wax tablet before?” Honda asked.

He hadn’t, but Ryou understood this method of writing now that he saw the mark that had been left in the wax. It was different from the way they kept track of records at home, but it was certainly similar enough for him to use effectively.

Ryou started to write, so excited to realize that he could form words for Honda this way that he hardly knew where to begin. Why hadn’t he thought of this before?

‘I love you,’ he wrote, as Honda watched over his shoulder, ‘And I know you. I know I told you to know my voice but I no longer have that for you to recognize me. I used to meet you by the ocean. Don’t you remember? I asked you to close your eyes but I know you saw my face once. I know you know me.’

Honda looked from the tablet to Ryou’s face, puzzled.

‘Kiss me,’ Ryou wrote in desperation. ‘Close your eyes and kiss me. I know you’ll recognize me then.’

“Ryou, what language is this?”

Ryou looked up at Honda, stunned. Writing had been Honda’s idea. How could he not recognize what Ryou had written for him?

“Where do you come from?”

Ryou turned back to the tablet and wrote, as precisely as he could, ‘Ocean.’

“Do you even understand what I’m saying?”

Ryou nodded quickly. That wasn’t the question here. The question was didn’t Honda understand what he was writing?

“Maybe we can find someone who can translate this.” Honda took the tablet away from Ryou, who tried to protest silently. What he had written was for Honda alone. It was too personal to show to anyone else.

“I’ll get you another one,” Honda argued when Ryou tried to grab the tablet back. “Wait here a minute.”

Ryou didn’t intend to wait. He tried to get to his feet, only to be reminded again of how sore his legs were. Honda had to catch him and push him firmly back into his seat.

“Wait here,” he commanded.

He left without giving Ryou a chance to protest again or to chase him. Ryou sat in place, feeling utterly frustrated, until Honda returned carrying a fresh tablet.

“Let me show you something,” Honda scolded when Ryou reached for the tablet. He carefully wrote a series of strange symbols in the wax, and Ryou realized, with a sinking feeling, that he didn’t recognize Honda’s runes.

“Can you read that?”

Ryou shook his head sadly. He could understand Honda’s speech just fine, but he couldn’t read his writing.

“I’ll teach you,” Honda said. His voice was oddly gentle, considering that they had just failed again. “I’ll teach you so that you can tell me everything.”

Ryou didn’t know if he wanted to feel happy or hopeless. He wanted to be able to tell Honda everything at last, but he was sure it would take more than two days for him to learn enough to tell Honda everything he needed to, and by then it would be too late.

“Let’s start with this,” Honda said, smoothing out the wax with the ‘fin’ and writing just a few of the strange symbols. “That’s your name,” he told Ryou.

Ryou took the wand from Honda and wrote his name in his own language. Naming runes were tricky and intricate and hard to write properly in the wax, so he had to concentrate. The runes for his name would have literally meant ‘silent sea-foam’ if Honda could read them. It was supposed to be a good name for a second child (or, technically, a fourth child, but he was matched together with his older twin) because the runes made a soft sound and offered a soft pattern to the eye.

He thought he remembered someone saying that his name was a bad omen, because of the ‘sea-foam’ rune. Because the foam was always on top of the waves, where he should never go. He couldn’t remember who had told him that. Perhaps they were right, if it had meant anything about this, about him being stranded and silenced outside of the ocean.

Honda studied Ryou’s writing for a moment. “Is that your name? It’s. . . pretty.” He looked intrigued by the runes. “How would you write mine?”

Ryou hesitated. He honestly had no idea. Honda’s name was obviously a land-name, because he had never met anyone at home with a similar name. Finally he chose the name-rune for ‘solid.’ It was an old-fashioned rune, rarely used, but he thought it fit Honda both for the ground he lived on and for his steady personality. He added the ‘scale’ rune, usually reserved for warriors because it implied armor, to make the pronunciation about right.

“I like it.” Honda finished inspecting his name and smiled at Ryou.

Ryou smiled back, handing the wand back to Honda so that he could write. Maybe he could learn enough to make Honda understand.

‘Teach me,’ he mouthed, and this time, Honda seemed to catch on immediately to what he wanted.

With a warm smile, Honda started by showing him a short, simple set of runes. They were only simple shapes of lines and curves. They were easy to form in the wax, at least. Ryou thought these must be the first few runes that were taught to children, but for some reason Honda hadn’t told him any of the meanings yet.

After he had copied each of the couple dozen runes Honda had given him, Ryou looked up at Honda, waiting for more information. When it wasn’t provided he held out the stylus to Honda, silently asking for more runes to copy. He wanted to learn as much as he could, as quickly as he could.

“Would you like me to show you more?”

Ryou nodded happily, and Honda took the stylus out of his hand. He watched intently so he would be able to see the way Honda shaped the new runes, but Honda didn’t write anything new. Instead he re-wrote some of the same runes he had used before, only all gathered together and in a different order.

“Each letter makes a sound,” Honda explained. “Put them together, and you get: ‘Ryou.’” He sounded it out, pointing to each letter in turn. “Though I guess they sometimes sound different depending on how we put them together.”

This wasn’t at all like the runes Ryou was used to. Honda tried to teach him the simple and common sounds, but there seemed to be too many combinations, too many possible sounds. Perhaps that was why Honda didn’t seem to understand when he cobbled the sound runes together to write ‘oshen,’ trying to explain himself.

He wasn’t going to give up so easily. Even if they couldn’t put words together between them, this tablet had given Ryou another idea for how to make himself understood.  


* * *

Moving to the blank side, away from his writing lesson, Ryou started to write something that didn’t look like the complicated symbols he had used before. Curves coming together into wavy lines near the top of the tablet. No, waves, Honda realized as a smooth half-moon was placed among them, the curved hull of a ship. Ryou paused, stylus poised above the surface in indecision, then erased the picture with the sharp edge.

“What are you trying to. . .” Honda started, trailing off as Ryou copied the same drawing lower down. This time he added details above the ship. Vertical masses of marks, rain, and a jagged bolt of lightning. “It’s a ship caught in a storm.” Honda guessed easily, as Ryou drew another copy of the ship at the bottom of the tablet, underwater. A ship sunk in a storm. “Is that what happened to you? You were shipwrecked?”

Ryou shook his head and pointed the stylus at Honda’s chest.

“I was shipwrecked.” But that had been a month ago. How did Ryou know about that?

Ryou had turned back to the tablet before he could ask. He drew a person on the boat, a solid line of land curving up out of the waves, and two more people together on the shore. He pointed from the boat to the shore, sneaking a glace up at Honda. He bit his lip and ran his fingers nervously through his hair as he turned back to his picture.

“Is this me?” Honda touched the figure on the boat.

Ryou’s attention snapped up to him once again. He nodded after only a heartbeat worth of hesitation.

“And here too?” Honda moved to touch one of the figures on the shore and got another nod of confirmation. Ryou was trying to draw his rescue from that shipwreck, when he had somehow been left on the beach hours ahead of any of the lifeboats. He had theories about his rescuer, but it seemed Ryou could give him facts. “Do you know who this is?”

Ryou put a hand to his own chest.

“You pulled me out of the ocean back there. That’s what you’re trying to tell me.”

Ryou smiled, taking Honda’s hand in both of his and clasping it to his chest. Honda leaned forward, inexorably drawn in.

“How did you find me out in the middle of the ocean? What happened out there?” If Ryou had pulled him to shore somehow, there must be more to him that Honda wasn’t seeing. He might even be more than human.

Ryou bit his lower lip, his gaze dipping for an instant before fixing on Honda’s face again.

“Here. Take your time, and I’ll do my best to understand.” Honda freed his hand to grab the tablet and pushed it into Ryou’s hands.

Ryou only let it slide out of his grip, reaching for Honda’s hands again instead.

“Can’t you tell me? You’re such a mystery.” This conversation felt strangely familiar. Honda looked down at the hands in his, strong fingers that felt right in his grip. He had a sudden temptation to press a kiss to the back of Ryou’s wrist, his hand, to kiss all the way down to each fingertip one by one. “I want to know you.”

Maybe he was seeing things when he thought Ryou’s lips formed the words, ‘You know me.’

Heedlessly he pulled Ryou into his arms, hugging him hard for a second as if he might disappear. He loosened his grip enough to look Ryou in the face, reaching up to stroke his cheek in a gesture he wanted to be comforting but all too easily became something intimate.

This couldn’t be right. Ryou was human, and the boy Honda had fallen in love with was not. Honda had been told to know his love by his voice, and Ryou had none. (Or if he did have a voice still hidden somewhere in there, the one thin gasp of it Honda had heard was too unlike the gentle tones of his love’s voice.) But their faces were the same. The feeling of holding Ryou’s body against him was the same. If he kissed Ryou he would know for sure.

Ryou was trembling, arms hugged tight around himself. He closed his eyes and tilted his face up as if anticipating Honda’s kiss. Honda saw and felt Ryou whisper something, his breath so warm and temptingly close, but he was trembling in Honda’s hands. He was frightened.

How could Ryou be the same person he had lost? He was a frightened innocent and Honda was trying to force him into the role of replacement in spite of all evidence. ‘Know my voice,’ his love had asked of him. Honda couldn’t let himself forget those words, or the sound of that voice whispering them to him. He had promised.

Jerking back and pushing Ryou away in the same instant, he put the necessary distance between them. Ryou stared up at him, shock and hurt plain on his face. Honda couldn’t think of anything to say, not after what he had almost done.

“I wasn’t thinking,” Honda tried to explain. He couldn’t tell Ryou he had been thinking of someone else when he had tried to kiss him. Ryou must know what he’d almost done. That was why the eyes that had shone at Honda so trustingly looked betrayed now.

Ryou glared down at the tablet is if it had personally wronged him. Honda wanted more than anything to be able to offer some comfort, but he was the worst choice for that after what he had almost done.

“It might take a while, but I promise. . .” Honda wanted to promise he would find where Ryou belonged, but he had a feeling that would only make things worse. If he said it now it would sound like he was just trying to get rid of Ryou.

“I promise I’ll help you. Even if I misunderstand what you want to tell me, I’ll keep trying until I get it right,” Honda promised. “But in the meantime, let’s see if we can find anyone who recognizes you. They might know how to get you home.”

His original idea might have been better after all. Being alone with Ryou was proving dangerous. If he could take Ryou out where someone had a chance of recognizing him, at least he wouldn’t be tempted to kiss that unsuspecting mouth.  


* * *

Ryou was fascinated by the horses. They were nothing like the horses he had seen before. Those had fat little stomachs and curly little tails and he had never seen one even half as large as these. Ryou thought that the only similarity the horses at home had to these land horses was their long faces.

He really did like horses in theory. The problem was that, in practice, he did not like riding one of them one bit. Ryou had discovered within five minutes of Jounouchi helping him into the saddle that being on a horse was painful.

The skin all up the insides of his legs and at the junction where they met was still tender. His tail had been seared right up the middle to form his legs, and now it was starting to feel like they were on fire all over again. He tightened his grip, grimly trying to hang on to the saddle horn as Honda has instructed, in spite of the slowly building pain.

Ryou was starting to think he would rather just slide right off and walk, except that he was high up enough that it would hurt a lot when he landed. He wasn’t really controlling where the horse went, but as long as she kept following Honda that wasn’t a problem. When Honda reined in his horse Ryou’s mare stopped short as well.

Honda moved in close to Ryou, reaching across the space between them to grasp Ryou’s arm. “Are you feeling all right?”

Ryou would have liked to nod and reassure Honda, but he hurt. He didn’t think he could keep that out of his expression well enough to convince Honda that he was all right.

Apparently his expression was so transparent that Honda had him figured out already. Honda dismounted and moved to his side, holding his arms up for Ryou.

Ryou allowed himself to be lifted out of the saddle, not sure what Honda would do with him. He stayed for a moment with his arms looped around Honda’s neck to support himself. Then Honda lifted him up onto his own saddle. Ryou clung to the leather under him, worrying that Honda would expect him to ride the more wild-seeming horse now.

Honda busied himself for a moment, tying the calm mare’s reins to the saddle before swinging himself up behind Ryou.

Ryou nearly overbalanced, but Honda’s arm was around his waist almost instantly, holding him steady. Honda gently lifted Ryou and adjusted their positions until he was sitting sideways across Honda’s legs, one knee cocked around the saddle horn and both arms looped around Honda’s shoulders. Honda kept one arm firmly around Ryou’s waist to hold him steady. His other hand loosely held the reins.

“Is this easier?” Honda asked, shifting deliberately to get his horse moving again.

Ryou nodded, settling comfortably against Honda’s chest. Sitting across Honda’s lap instead of having to grip with the inside of his legs was thankfully less painful. Even if it had not been, he would have enjoyed curling close to Honda’s chest.

“I should have guessed this would be too hard on you. Even if I can’t see your wounds, something is hurting you, isn’t it? We’ll go when I can bring you more comfortably. Or even when you’ve healed.”

Ryou felt as if a warm glow had started up inside his chest at the careful kindness Honda showed him. He had never met anyone like Honda. In fact he had become convinced that there were no other people like Honda, human or otherwise.

As he noticed Ryou’s eyes on him, Honda looked down and smiled. “Are your legs still hurting you like this?”

Ryou shook his head quickly. Honda’s arm tightened around him and he couldn’t help smiling. He was comfortable this way. Even better, this position gave him a chance to be close to Honda. His entire day he had been able to be close to Honda. Even though he couldn’t seem to make progress in convincing Honda to recognize him, he was happy.

Ryou let his head rest against Honda’s chest, looking up at him happily. ‘Thank you,’ he mouthed shyly. Even if Honda rarely understood, Ryou couldn’t give up trying to talk to him.

“You’re welcome,” Honda answered. He bent his head just enough to press a gentle kiss to Ryou’s forehead.

Ryou’s eyes fluttered closed, face tilting up in hopes of a second kiss landing on his mouth. Instead Honda sat up suddenly straight in the saddle, staring ahead with severe concentration.

‘He kissed me.’ Ryou would have shouted those words into the sky if he could have made a sound. He touched the place on his forehead where Honda had kissed him in absolute wonder.

He knew it wasn’t enough. Not really. Miho had said Honda should kiss him to prove that he loved him. He was sure Honda didn’t know that he loved him, not yet. Honda still didn’t know that Ryou was the one he had declared his love to before, so it probably didn’t count. Besides, he didn’t feel any different. The legs still ached and felt temporary and vaguely wrong.

It was a start, at least. Honda could still fall in love with him. Ryou let out a sigh as he looked hopefully up at Honda, but Honda looked completely distracted. He snuggled against Honda’s arm and smiled up at him, trying to get his attention.

Honda looked down at him and smiled distractedly, tightening the arm he had around Ryou to support him. “I guess we didn’t get very far today.”

Ryou shook his head and reached up to touch Honda’s mouth. He brought his fingers down and touched them to his own lips, mouthing, ‘It’s all right. I love you. I still have one more day for you to understand.’

Honda’s eyes widened at the indirect kiss, but to Ryou’s disappointment he didn’t comment on it. He didn’t seem to have picked up what Ryou said, either.

“I’ll try again tomorrow,” Honda promised. His face was stern, but Ryou wasn’t afraid of that.

Ryou snuggled closer, trusting Honda to understand soon.  


* * *

Honda cursed himself silently as he helped Ryou down from the horse and found he had to support the worn out boy on the way up to dinner because his legs trembled when he tried to stand. It wasn’t accidentally pushing Ryou too far by trying to make him ride that made Honda angry with himself. He had been about to take advantage of the boy right there. He hadn’t been able to shake the feeling of wanting to kiss Ryou. Even that innocent kiss on his forehead was too much. 

It had seemed to make Ryou happy, somehow. He had snuggled against Honda the whole way back, smiling up at him again and again. Honda tried to put that out of his head. This was obviously not Ryou 's fault. How could he have known he might tempt Honda? It wasn't even that he was doing anything tempting. Just his being there was too much of a temptation.

It was only that Ryou reminded him so much of the one he had lost. Embracing him just felt right for some reason. And the things he had tried to draw to express himself, it was hard to believe that was a coincidence.

For a moment Honda had believed that Ryou really was the one he had loved and lost. Maybe he was being punished, having his voice stolen, having to prove that Honda could make up for stealing that look at his face.

He would have to put those thoughts out of his head, Honda decided, as Ryou stumbled over a rock, gasping in fear when Honda almost failed to catch him. No. Ryou needed to be looked after. Besides, if Ryou had been his love, why not just kiss him and let him know it? Honda was sure he would recognize a kiss just a surely as his love's voice.

But he wasn’t going to force a kiss on Ryou to find out. Not while Ryou was depending on him so completely.  


* * *

Only after he had helped Ryou up to bed did Honda let himself make his way down to the beach. It was a daily ritual. He couldn’t give it up, even if no one came to greet him now no matter how long he waited.

He was slowly giving in to despair in waiting for his love. He knew he should stop for a while and focus on Ryou, but he was afraid that he kept seeing things in Ryou that weren’t really there. Even knowing next to nothing about him, Honda liked Ryou enough that he knew it would be wrong to force those feelings onto him.

As he approached their spot he saw someone standing on the sand. The figure’s long, wild hair all but shone in the moonlight. Honda stopped, part of him insisting that it was a dream, and part of him sure it was Ryou.

The boy turned slowly, as their eyes met he smiled and whispered, “Honda.”

Honda would have known that voice anywhere. It was the voice he had fallen in love with. Throwing away his doubts, Honda dashed down the beach to catch the boy and embrace him.

“It’s you,” he gasped, “You came back.”

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Honda stroked back the young man’s silver hair, vowing to never let him go again. He was surprised to find such serious eyes staring back at him. He would have been unnerved by their depth if he had stopped to think about it. Instead he found himself whispering affectionate nonsense, unable to take his eyes away.

“Stay,” Honda finally managed, “Stay with me.”

“I-I will.”

Honda put the slight hesitation down to shyness and gave him a loving smile. “This time, give me your name.”

“Bakura.” The slow smile he gave made Honda’s heart flip. “Call me Bakura.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only now do I realize: I should have had more Yami Bakura. He makes this whole chapter better. Because he has standards, damn it!

Ryou looked up from trying to get his nightclothes on straight to see who had come in and received a very nasty shock. Bakura came hurrying across the room to catch him. He could barely grasp that his brother was here, that Bakura had come for him, and that he was walking on human legs.

“Ryou you idiot! I was so worried about you!” Ryou let out a gasp of surprise, not because of the words, but because of the way Bakura was speaking. That was his voice coming out of Bakura’s mouth! He was sure of it, but how could that be right? He couldn’t even speak with his voice all dried out, so how could Bakura be using his voice?

Ryou looked up at Bakura in confusion and found Honda standing over them. He was looking down at them with an affectionate expression.

“So he was your brother.”

Bakura moved to kiss Honda’s cheek. “Thank you for looking after him.”

Ryou couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Honda blushed and smiled happily as if that was supposed to happen, before slipping one arm around Bakura and nuzzling him affectionately.

Honda didn’t seem to notice, but Ryou could see his brother tense up, making it plain that he did not like being touched by Honda, no matter what he was pretending. Ryou had no pity for him at the moment. He felt like Bakura had stolen his place in Honda’s arms, and he desperately wanted it back.

“I need to talk to Ryou,” Bakura insisted.

Honda glanced at Ryou and smiled, but Ryou couldn’t bring himself to smile back. “I don’t want to let you go.”

“I won’t go anywhere, ” Bakura grumbled.

Honda seemed satisfied with this and released Bakura. Almost as an afterthought he reached over and ruffled Ryou’s hair.

Bakura at least had the tact to wait until Honda was out of the room to let out a noise of annoyance. Ryou scooted away from his brother on the bed, feeling stunned and hurt and unable to understand why his brother would do something like this.

“It was a good idea,” Bakura told him, “Making sure he would recognized this voice.” Ryou tried to say that it wasn’t Bakura’s voice, that he had no right to use it to trick Honda, but he still couldn’t speak. He felt more angry than hurt by his dried out voice now.

“Think for a minute.” Bakura put one finger to Ryou’s lips to stop the flow of silent words. “Wouldn’t you rather know before it was too late?”

It took Ryou a moment to work out what Bakura was talking about. ‘Honda?’ he mouthed.

“That’s right. And now you see. . . ” Bakura let his words trail off, but Ryou understood him well enough. He was trying to say that if Honda couldn’t recognize him it was pointless. Ryou didn’t think that was fair.

‘But I love him,’ he tried to tell Bakura.

“I know, but that doesn’t matter. I love you.”

Ryou tried to explain that it wasn’t the same, but Bakura wasn’t paying attention. He shook Ryou by the shoulders. “I’m your brother. Can’t you care what I think? Can’t you be satisfied that I’ll never abandon you? That’s more than I can say of you.”

They stared each other down for a moment, at a loss for words until Bakura added, “He proposed to me. I can’t believe he didn’t say anything to you.” Ryou was shocked to find Bakura looked almost sick at the thought. He shook his head. He didn’t think it was the same here. Honda’s older brother didn’t have an other half, after all.

“Don’t pretend he has an excuse,” Bakura hissed.

Ryou knew it would take more time than he had left in his bet to make Bakura understand that human culture might be different. Instead, while he still had Bakura’s attention, he pointed to Bakura’s throat, and then to his own.

“Your voice? Miho fixed it for me.”

Ryou tried to make an angry noise at the unfairness of it all, but Bakura just smiled at him. “At least I’ll still know. I think I know you well enough to know what you want.” He paused to study Ryou’s expression. “You can correct me if I get you wrong, though.” Bakura ruffled Ryou’s hair kindly. “Don’t worry. You’ll be home soon.”

Angry as he was at his brother, Ryou could still be glad that someone understood him.

Now he had something much worse to think about. Bakura said Miho had fixed his voice, not only so that he could speak out of water, but so that he sounded perfectly like Ryou. Was she trying to cheat? She had made it all but impossible to convince Honda of who he was so that he could kiss him and stay on land with him.

Ryou was sure of one thing: as long as Honda thought that the voice he was in love with was truly Bakura’s, there would be no way he could win him. Not in the one day he had left.  


* * *

Honda stood at the door, waiting. He knew he should give the two brothers some privacy, but he didn’t want to loose Bakura again. Besides, there wasn’t much he could learn from eavesdropping on their one-sided conversation anyway, only that Bakura somehow understood what his brother was trying to say.

Honda wished he could do the same. He knew Ryou still had something he wanted to tell him.

Something about the two of them wasn’t quite right. Honda couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was the feeling that Bakura’s and Ryou’s reactions were a little off. Why had Ryou come to him first? Why did it feel like he was the actual reason for Bakura being here? Honda was trying not to be selfish, but he still wanted to be the reason Bakura came back.

He didn’t like doubting Bakura. Not now that he had finally found him. He didn’t want to think that he had been rash, proposing before he even got Bakura home. He just hadn’t wanted to let him slip out of sight again.

Bakura stepped out of Ryou’s room, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw Honda waiting for him. “You were listening?”

Honda nodded. He reached out and clasped Bakura’s hands in his own. “Do you want to take your brother home?”

Bakura nodded silently, glancing back through the door at Ryou.

“Take me with you.”

“I can’t.”

Honda wanted to press him, but the severe look on Bakura’s face persuaded him otherwise. “Then promise you’ll come back to me.”

“No,” Bakura whispered. He looked back at Honda, squeezing his hands. “You said you would marry me tomorrow. Before I bring him home, say you’ll be mine and no one else’s.”

Honda couldn’t believe his luck. He wrapped his arms around Bakura and hugged him close. “I will. And you, mine.”

Bakura gave him a look of absolute seriousness, and Honda thought he must be considering the words as if they would change his entire life. “As you wish.”

“I do.” Honda kissed Bakura’s hair tenderly. “Stay with me tonight?”

Bakura flushed and turned his face away. “No. Ryou, he’ll be. . .”

“I understand.” Though Honda honestly didn’t understand, he simply gave Bakura another kiss and released him. Bakura gave him an inscrutable look.

Honda assumed that Ryou would want to be near his brother. It made sense. Bakura would probably be far more comforting than he could ever be while Ryou was lost in a land that was obviously unfamiliar to him. It hurt that he really could do so little for Ryou, for either of them. He had wanted to be able to comfort Ryou.

Honda tried not to think about it, telling himself instead that he would have another chance to be with Bakura, tomorrow night.  


* * *

Ryou was sure Bakura was staging that conversation just within his hearing to torment him. He knew why Bakura had wanted to coax that particular promise from Honda. Here Ryou had thought he was too stubborn to understand, but instead he was assuming that in Honda’s culture, having him swear himself to Bakura would make it impossible for him to turn and go after Ryou instead. It should have meant he was bound to take Ryou as well, regardless of what he felt for him, but. . . as far as Ryou knew Bakura was right.

He was surprised to hear Bakura return the informal vow. Surely Bakura didn’t mean to give up his own heart just to keep Ryou from becoming bound to a human.

Ryou rolled over in bed and put his back to the door, pretending to be asleep as Bakura came in. No matter how hard he tried, Ryou found himself unable to hate Bakura for what he had done. Even after he had run off, practically abandoning his brother, Bakura had come for him. He hated Honda so much, and yet he was putting up with him just for Ryou’s sake.

More than anything, Ryou wished Bakura could understand Honda, and understand how he felt about him.  


* * *

Bakura woke in what he was sure was the most horrible place he could have ever dreamed up. He hated land. Everything was so bright and strange and dry. It didn’t feel natural to be so dry. The parched air made it feel like a land of death to him.

If not for Ryou sleeping innocently beside him, he would have bolted back home. He hadn’t even realized how much his closest brother had done to keep him sane until he had been left alone. Now he never wanted to be parted from Ryou again. He would stay here in this dry hell to be with him if he really had to. Not that he would ever tell Ryou that. It would only encourage him.

Ryou was waking slowly beside him, trying to ward off the sunlight with one hand when he opened his eyes. Bakura bent over him, hoping Ryou would be less upset than he had been last night.

“It’s the last day,” Bakura told him softly. “Then I’ll take you home.”

Ryou seemed to take a minute to adjust to seeing him there, then he pressed his hands over his face. He shook his head at Bakura, meaning he didn’t want to come home.

Bakura pried the hands away, and was startled to see wetness running out of Ryou’s eyes and down his cheeks. It took him a minute to even understand that Ryou was crying, but his tears were somehow water instead of pearl.

“Stop it,” Bakura hissed. He shook Ryou, but his brother just gulped around a silent sob and started to cry harder. “Ryou, stop!” Bakura was starting to panic at Ryou’s behavior. “You’re going to dry out!”

Ryou opened his eyes in surprise. He looked so lost, and Bakura had no idea what to do with him. He knew what he was doing was best for Ryou in the long run, but it was obviously hurting him now. He pushed the wet tears away, and was relieved when no more appeared.

Ryou mouthed something at him. It took Bakura three repeats before he could work out the words, since they weren’t what he expected to hear. ‘I missed you.’

“I missed you too,” Bakura admitted. He hugged Ryou fiercely, his one and only anchor in this strange world. He knew he was breaking Ryou’s heart, and it hurt him too. He just hoped that as long as he could keep Ryou safe, his brother’s heart would heal in time.  


* * *

Ryou stared down at the water. It was decidedly strange to see the waves from above instead of below. He was considering running away. More importantly, he was considering how impossible it would be. He was more than ready to throw himself over the railing and into the water, but once he was there, what would he do? He wouldn’t get his tail or his gills back until the sun went down, and without them he wouldn’t be able to breathe or swim.

There was nowhere to escape to when he couldn’t swim. Of course Bakura would be furious with him if he went and got himself drowned after everything he had done trying to bring him back home safely. Honda would. . . Ryou wondered how much Honda would care when he disappeared. He was nothing special to Honda now, after all.

By this time, Ryou was certain he would get his tail back and have to return to the ocean. He had tried again and again to communicate to Honda that this was a mistake, that he loved him, anything. He had given up.

Jounouchi patted Ryou’s back lightly, startling him.

“Hi,” he greeted Ryou quietly, watching him as though he expected him to shatter at any minute. “You know, I was rooting for you.”

There was something else underneath that he wasn’t quite saying. He didn’t trust Bakura. He was irritated that there was nothing he could do to change Honda’s mind.

Ryou didn’t want to see that. No matter what he had done, Bakura was still his brother, and even now Ryou could see that everything Bakura was doing was meant to be for his sake. He ducked under Jounouchi’s arm and fled to a better hiding place.  


* * *

Honda jumped in surprise when Jounouchi hit his arm, hard. He looked up to find his friend pointing to where Ryou was trying his best to be invisible against the railing. “Could you talk to him?”

“What did you do?” Honda looked around for Bakura, but for once he wasn’t hovering over his brother as he had since he had appeared.

“I don’t know. Just talk to him.”

Honda didn’t want to get in the middle of Jounouchi’s problem, but Ryou did look miserable. Besides, he had been trying to talk to Ryou alone all day, but Bakura had never given him a chance to even ask him if he was all right.

Once Ryou saw him coming, he tried to turn to avoid him, but Honda wasn’t about to let him slip away like that. Catching Ryou’s arm and pulling him back towards the railing, Honda glanced around quickly to see if Bakura would appear again, but he was nowhere to be found.

“Ryou, what’s wrong?”

Ryou gave him a wounded look, because of course Honda wouldn’t understand if he tried to tell him. Honda found himself feeling jealous of the bond that seemed to allow Bakura to know what Ryou was trying to say.

“Shall I guess?” Honda tried to smile. He hadn’t had much luck with that method before, but it was better than nothing.

Ryou shook his head just the tiniest bit, and Honda knew he had at least been right about one thing. Something was deeply wrong.

The next minute Honda had to grab Ryou’s shoulders to keep him from ducking away. Not that he thought Ryou could get far, but it was better not to let him go. “What is wrong with you?”

He wished he hadn’t grabbed him so abruptly when Ryou gave him an utterly painful look. Even to Honda, it was clear he was saying that he was already in pain and didn’t need to be shouted at on top of it.

“I’m sorry.” Honda loosened his grip to be sure he wasn’t hurting Ryou, but still didn’t let go. He didn’t want Ryou to avoid him any longer. “But why?”

Ryou turned his head, looked down at the water, and made no attempt to answer.

“Have I done something wrong?” Honda wondered guiltily if it was because he had nearly kissed Ryou. He hadn’t treated Ryou as gently as he had should have after all.

Ryou nodded. Honda felt a chill in his stomach.

“Something so that you don’t want to give your brother up to me now?”

Ryou shook his head, looking up at Honda’s face at last. His serious expression caught Honda so off guard that when Ryou slipped out of his grip and wrapped his arms around Honda’s neck he made no move to stop him.

“Ryou?” Honda asked cautiously.

Ryou leaned so close that for a second Honda thought he was going to kiss him. He pressed one hand over Honda’s heart, then pointed to himself. His mouth carefully forming silent words that Honda tried desperately to make sense of.

“I don’t understand,” Honda admitted, though he instinctively tightened his grip on Ryou. “What do you want me to do?”

Ryou repeated the motion, mouthing the tiny phrase again. Honda tried to say it back to him, trying to see what the words felt like in his mouth.

Just as suddenly as he had gotten into Honda’s arms, Ryou let go and stepped back. Honda knew it really wasn’t fair to pursue him, since Ryou couldn’t run, but he didn’t want to let him go.

“Are you asking me to-”

“Hey!” A loud voice cut into Honda’s thoughts before he could work out the answer. “You’re going to be late for your own wedding!”  


* * *

Honda wasn’t listening to the ceremony. He had Bakura on his arm, but he couldn’t even pay attention to him. All he could think about was Ryou. That look Ryou had given him just before he had been called away, there was something about it that hurt.

What had Ryou been trying to tell him? His hand on Honda’s chest, he was begging him for something. Did he need Honda to protect him? That made sense, but Honda knew those hadn’t been the words Ryou had been trying to say.

Not ‘protect me,’ then. It was a one syllable word. ‘Hold me?’ But that made no sense. Why would Ryou ask for that? Why would he . . . no, wild speculation wouldn’t get him anywhere.

Honda closed his eyes, imagining the word as it had looked on Ryou’s lips. ‘Love.’ ‘Love me.’

Even as he tried to deny it Honda knew that was right. Ryou hadn’t just put his hand to his chest, he had been holding it over his heart. ‘Love me.’ Why would he ask that?

Honda turned to look at Ryou and realized his eyes were full of tears. As soon as he caught Honda looking he tried to hide them. Why . . .

“I can’t.” It wasn’t until Honda heard the whispers around him that he realized he had said those words out loud.

“What?”

Honda turned to Bakura, shocked to hear his voice twisted in anger. How could this be the same shy, sweet person he had fallen in love with? How could he have known what Ryou was going through, and there was no doubt in Honda’s mind that Bakura knew his brother had to be in pain, and not say a word?

“Something’s wrong. Something. . .” Honda could only be sure that something was terribly wrong. Ryou had known him from the moment he had appeared. He might have even loved him before Honda had found him on that beach.

Something was wrong. Honda only knew he had to get to Ryou. Even if he couldn’t speak, he must know the answer. He must have been trying to tell Honda all along.  


* * *

Ryou didn’t know how he was supposed to sit quietly through his brother’s wedding. At least the quiet part wasn’t a problem. He couldn’t have voiced a single protest even if he had tried. It wasn’t right. He should be up there with Honda, with his brother.

He wondered if Bakura was even angrier about the situation than he was. He could feel a storm brewing up around him. He wasn’t sure if it was Bakura’s temper or if his fathers had figured what had happened to the two of them. Whatever it was, he could tell it wasn’t natural, and if it got too big the wedding barge would be in danger of sinking.

The old man reading the vows went on and on in a droning hum that meant nothing to Ryou. All he could think about was how he had almost stolen Honda’s kiss, truly stolen it, just to remain where he was. It wouldn’t work. The only thing that had stopped him was the realization that Honda wouldn’t understand.

Ryou’s eyes blurred with tears at his failure as he looked up to find Honda looking back at him. He tried to wipe them away quickly, hiding behind his hands so he wouldn’t have to see Honda.

“I can’t,” Ryou heard Honda saying. Surely that couldn’t be part of their vows? Judging by the soft gasps and murmurs of surprise around him, it wasn’t.

“What?” Bakura asked, his voice cold.

“Something’s wrong. Something. . .”

Ryou found Honda looking at him. He stood quickly, backing a few steps away towards the railing. Bakura was going to be so angry. Ryou only hoped that he wouldn’t take it out on Honda.

Instead, Bakura laughed softly, making Honda look around at him. “Go ahead,” he told Honda.

“What?”

“Go ahead.” His voice was so pleased, so mocking, that it actually scared Ryou to hear it. “Go to him. It doesn’t matter now.”

Honda didn’t question this. He was already rushing to Ryou’s side. Ryou, however, glanced back over his shoulder to where the sun was dipping beneath the waves. Now he knew why Bakura had sounded as if he was baiting Honda. It couldn’t matter now. It was too late.

Then Honda’s arms were around him, holding him safe and warm and Ryou never wanted him to let go. He clung to Honda, pressing his face miserably into Honda’s shoulder. He didn’t want to think that maybe it wasn’t too late yet. Maybe if Honda had just realized, if he kissed him now, he could stay.

Ryou knew it was impossible. He could already feel each tiny line of fire as his back spilt open and his gills regrew. He could hear his borrowed pants rip as his scales started to form. His tail was going to grow back again in a second and he didn’t want to see Honda’s face when it did.

Ryou caught Honda’s face and pulled him close, meaning to kiss him at least once before it was too late, but . . .

“Ryou?” The worry in Honda’s face froze Ryou in the last second. Honda could already see that he was changing, and he didn’t know what would happen if he tried to stay now. He didn’t want to be caught between two worlds, not any more than he already was.

It was too late. Ryou found he could no longer stand, and fell hard on the deck at Honda’s feet. He looked down to find his tail twisted painfully under him, as he knew it would be. The split remains of his pants were sliding off of his scales, offering no protection from Honda’ gaze.

Honda knelt and grabbed Ryou by the shoulders before he could squirm away and escape into the ocean. Ryou stared up at him, petrified.

“I knew it. I knew it had to be something like this.” Before Ryou could truly understand what Honda was saying, Honda caught his hand and kissed the back of his wrist. The gesture was achingly familiar to Ryou.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Honda demanded. Ryou realized he was talking to Bakura and looked up cautiously. One glance at his brother’s face made it plain to Ryou that he was in no mood to answer questions. That expression wasn’t a good sign.

“Take your hands off of my brother.”

His voice was like thunder. As he spoke, Ryou saw the storm that had been brewing around them rising up towards him. He could feel pure intent from it and knew it was coming for him just seconds before it hit.

As the wave swept over the side of the ship, Ryou was aware of a second set of hands on him, ripping him out of Honda’s grip. Then he was twisting and falling through the water, not even able to put together where he was until he looked up and found the ship’s hull suspended above him. Then he knew then that Honda was truly lost to him.  


* * *

Honda was sure another person had snatched Ryou away from him while he was blinded by the wave. He looked up to find Bakura laughing at him, holding a wicked trident in one hand. Even as Honda watched lightning lanced down towards him, burning off his clothes and changing him as well.

So they were both mermen. Maybe they were even truly brothers. That didn’t matter to Honda nearly so much as the fact that Ryou had been snatched away from him again.

“Give him back!” Bakura was still close enough that Honda could grab him before he slipped into the sea.

“Never.” Bakura pointed the trident at him in what Honda assumed was meant to be a threatening manner. Honda didn’t care. He was beyond fear.

Grabbing and holding Bakura’s trident still with one hand, he demanded, “Take me to Ryou!”

Honda didn’t see the lightning coming. All he knew was a shock running through his body, stunning him so badly that he was slipping off of the railing along with Bakura before he could orient himself.

The jolt of hitting the water made Honda take in a deep breath, expecting as he did so to end up gagging on salt water. Instead he felt muscles he hadn’t even known he had sifting the water and pushing it out again.

Honda gasped again and realized he was breathing. Breathing underwater. It shouldn’t be possible. Instead of going into his lungs the water was passing through him, through slits in his back that he knew he hadn’t had before.

Honda tried to right himself in the water and found Bakura glaring at him.

“How could you do that!? If you think I’m letting you near Ryou again-”

“Shut up!” Honda wasn’t putting up with a lecture from Bakura. His voice was suddenly so different, far rougher and deeper than the voice Honda had known before. He didn’t think it could be that he just sounded different underwater. If he had somehow stolen Ryou’s voice. . .

With a shock, Honda remembered that voice. When he had slipped and looked at Ryou before, he had heard it. He knew there had been someone else there as he struggled blindly with Ryou, but it hadn’t been important at the time. Now he knew who had been demanding of Ryou, ‘Let me kill him.’

Honda tried to move, to swim, so he could find Ryou, but he couldn’t get his legs to move. He looked down at himself and found that his legs had fused together into a single, powerful tail. Just like Ryou’s, he realized. Never mind that his scales were a deep sea green instead of shining silver. He was just like Ryou now.

“That brat,” Bakura was growling to himself as Honda touched his new scales, amazed by the tough yet supple armor they made, “Where has she taken him?”

Honda had to leave off his inspection of his new tail and grab Bakura before he could swim off. “What have you done with Ryou?”

Bakura gave him a thoroughly self-satisfied smile. Honda realized that in spite of the pretense he had put up on land, Bakura truly despised him. “I just brought him home.”

“Then where is he?” It seemed to Honda that someone else had snatched Ryou away from Bakura in turn. Bakura muttered something angrily under his breath that sounded to Honda like ‘Miho.’

“What?”

“None of your business.”

“Show me where he is.”

Bakura opened his mouth to continue arguing when a visible jolt went through the trident he was holding. His face paled immediately, and Honda could see that it was now vibrating in his hand.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Bakura whispered to himself. He turned on Honda and shouted, “Let go of me! You’ve already done enough damage.”

“Did something happen to Ryou?”

“He’s in trouble because of you. If you really cared about him you’d let go and let me help him.”

Honda tightened his grip, torn in his worry. Bakura obviously knew far more about this world and its dangers than he did, but he didn’t trust him to help Ryou. Besides, he wanted to be able to protect Ryou himself.

“Show me where he is.” Honda tried to work his tail and found he could kick out with it, propelling himself forward through the water.

Bakura obviously didn’t have time to argue with him. “Keep up.”

Honda wasn’t about to let himself fall behind. If Ryou could learn to walk, then he could do this. It was for Ryou. Honda felt he could do anything for him.  


* * *

Ryou had discarded his borrowed shirt with a small pang of guilt several leagues back. He had hardly been able to breathe with it covering his gills. There was no time to bring it back. Miho kept dragging him onward.

He realized he must be going home. Miho wouldn’t say a word to him, and Ryou wondered if her angry expression had more to do with Honda, having to deal with Bakura or having to bring him home to face his fathers. They must be furious with him for running off like that.

All too soon he was home, and both of his fathers seeming to tower over him. Even the expression he was receiving from his more mild father was making him want to shrink into himself and hide.

“What did you think you were doing?”

Ryou looked up in misery. Somewhere far above him was Honda. He wondered if he would ever work out what had happened. He just hoped that Bakura hadn’t hurt him.

“Wait a minute, where’s Bakura?”

“He’s coming.”

Ryou broke in to defend his brother, “He didn’t-”

“He is in just as much trouble as you are.”

Ryou curled in on himself, glancing over his shoulder in hopes of seeing Bakura, in the desperate hope of having his other half there to help him face the double dose of parental wrath.

He had only expected to see Bakura, but struggling to keep up in his brother’s wake was . . . Honda. Only it couldn’t be Honda. Not unless he could change into a merman at will. Ryou felt his fathers tense in shock at the sight, and almost missed that fact that Bakura was carrying his first father’s trident. The explained the storm, at least.

“Honda?” He gasped. Before he could think about the amount of trouble he was already in, Ryou darted forward to throw himself at Honda.

“Ryou!” Honda nearly went over backwards in the water. Ryou barely thought the help right him, he wanted so much to just hang on to Honda and never let go.

“What is this!? What is that human doing here?”

“He did it to himself, I never-”

“Honda, you shouldn’t have come here.”

“Your voice is back!”

“What did you think you were doing, stealing that-”

“You weren’t going to do anything to help him!”

“QUIET!”

Ryou froze. His father’s voice seemed to rumble through the sea, stilling everything in its wake. He thought he could even feel the waves going utterly still above them.

The trident jerked itself out of Bakura’s hand and returned to its rightful owner. With a feeling of utter dread, Ryou wrapped his arms around Honda, trying to shield him from his father’s inevitable rage.

“First thing first. I’m returning the human to his proper form.”

“You can’t!” Ryou cried, “He’ll drown!”

Honda gently pried his hands off and, to Ryou’s shock, shifted him so that he was between Ryou and his father. Honda couldn’t be trying to protect him. Not from his own father. Not when Honda himself was the one in danger.

“Honda,” Ryou tried to put himself back between his love and his father. “Please. You’ll be killed.”

“I’m not going to lose you again.”

“Weren’t you listening? You’ll drown if you turn back here!”

“You really are an idiot,” Bakura butted in. Ryou looked up at this unexpected source of help as Bakura placed himself firmly between Honda and the glowing weapon that his father held ready to blast him back into human form.

“Bakura,” the warning tone came from both Honda and Ryou’s fathers at the same time.

Bakura turned to Honda first, “Shut up, you. He’s not in any danger here so you can quit pretending to be a hero.” With Honda shocked speechless he turned back to his fathers and asked, “Do you really think Ryou would ever forgive you if you killed him?”

Ryou whimpered in misery at the thought. Honda pulled him close, his hold gentle while Ryou clung as hard as he possibly could. He couldn’t bear to see Honda drown, not now.

The glow went out of the trident as his father lowered it slowly.

“What do you see in this human?”

“I don’t know,” Ryou found himself whispering, “I love him.”

The look on Honda’s face at those words was worth any punishment.


End file.
